Absa should do the right thing – SACC
‘Public protector must, however, not change law’
The SA Council of Churches yesterday welcomed the findings of public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and called on Absa to implement her remedial action recommendation.
“As the SACC‚ we believe it is better for the stability of our country that agreements are reached expeditiously‚ for due restitution to be made.
“In this regard‚ we believe that Absa should do the right thing and honour the public protector’s remedial action without delay.
“That is good for the country and that is good for the common good‚” the council said in a statement.
However‚ it said it did not believe that it was the public protector’s duty to change laws‚ “not least the highest law in the land‚ the South African constitution”.
Mkhwebane released a number of reports‚ which included her findings on the controversial CIEX report‚ on Monday.
She found that the SA government breached its constitutional obligation to spend public money wisely when it made no effort to act on the findings of the 1997-1999 CIEX report‚ in which it was alleged that the SA Reserve Bank had irregularly given money to Bankorp – a predecessor of Absa.
One of her remedial actions is that Absa should pay back R1.125-billion to the state.
However‚ Mkhwebane also recommended that the constitution be amended to stipulate that the Reserve Bank’s primary objectives include protecting citizens’ socioe-onomic conditions.
Both Absa and the SA Reserve Bank intend taking Mkhwebane’s report on review. The recommendations Mkhwebane made on the constitution also attracted criticism from the business community and the ANC‚ which said she had overstepped the line of her powers.
The SA Communist Party also expressed its concern, saying she had acted beyond her legal authority. However‚ the SACP had some strong views on the SA Reserve Bank.
“Nevertheless the SACP wishes to reiterate its position that the real issue with the Reserve Bank is its singular constitutional mandate to ‘protect the value of the currency’.
“… while in recent years the Reserve Bank has applied its inflation targeting mandate with a degree of flexibility‚ it still remains locked into an inappropriate paradigm for the realities confronting our country.”