Zuma: We’ll act against the banks
PRESIDENT SAYS PRICE-FIXING IN THE SECTOR HAS HURT THE SA ECONOMY
THE banks’ price-fixing scandal has far-reaching effects for the country and their actions have distorted South Africa’s economic standing.
This is according to President Jacob Zuma yesterday, during his State of the Nation reply in parliament, as he reacted to revelations by the Competition Commission that some banks, including Standard Bank, Absa Bank and Investec, have to answer on price collusion and currency fixing.
He said the government would act against price-fixing and collusion while in the same breath he accused opposition parties of not wanting to see black people being captains of economy.
The three South African banks were named among the 17 international banks, including HSBC, Barclays and JP Morgan Chase, that had been referred to the tribunal for prosecution following an investigation into the manipulation of the rand since April 2015.
The commission said from at least 2007, the respondents had a general agreement to collude on prices for bids, offers and bid-offer spreads for the spot trades involving the US dollar and rand currency pair.
In his 70-minute speech, Zuma reiterated the government’s plans to drive radical economic transformation, saying the ANC “won’t be apologetic” in its pursuit of “economic freedom for the black majority and for Africans in particular”.
He said he was “shocked” by statements from the opposition that it would not succeed because it had not succeeded elsewhere, saying it showed they were “determined to defend and protect the status quo and ensure ownership control remains skewed in favour of a racial minority”.
However, addressing statements made by the Freedom Front Plus’s Pieter Groenewald during the debate, Zuma said the focus on land restitution and economic transformation did not indicate a hatred for white people.
“Some of us have been taught by our organisations not to be racist,” he said. “We are merely stating a fact, massive stretches of land are owned by a few.”
He, however, emphasised all efforts at land redistribution would be done within the parameters of the constitution and the law.
Zuma also took aim at DA leader Mmusi Maimane’s speech about the “lost generation” of young, black Africans who are not in education or working, saying “our youth is not a lost generation – they know what they want for themselves”.