Central Banks and other key government institutions must be prepared to defend their duties in the face of rising populism across the world, said Lesetja Kganyago, the outspoke Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
According to Kganyago the ‘year of elections’ (2024) has made the rise of populism worldwide even more evident.
“Whether we are talking about rich countries or poorer ones, there is no denying that we are in an age of populism. We need to reflect on why populist ideas have this appeal and how we can respond,” he said in a keynote address at an Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) event in Sandton, South Africa.
The comments come after Kganyago criticized the crypto industry lobbying of U.S. policymakers, effectively trying to sway financial regulation. He warned that such actions could lead to ‘regulatory capture.’
🇿🇦BITCOIN | ‘I Have a Problem with a Lobby that Says Government Should Hold #Bitcoin,’ Says South Africa Central Bank Governor
According to Reuters, the crypto industry invested over $119M to advance legislation favorable to the sectorhttps://t.co/SiP2xQYmWs @SAReserveBank pic.twitter.com/wg0btW5TGO
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) January 22, 2025
He reiterated his earlier remarks that decisions made by populist leaders often result in economic crises.
“Probably one of the most difficult [populist attacks] for us was in 2017, when the SARB came under attack from the Public Protector – an independent institution established by the SA Constitution to uphold constitutional democracy and to investigate claims of abuse of power,” he noted.
“The Public Protector had investigated a case for which we believed she did not have jurisdiction. Despite this, we still assisted and cooperated fully with the investigation.
“We were shocked when we found that one of her recommendations was that the mandate of the SARB be changed. In essence, a key recommendation would have taken away the SARB’s mandate of price stability without assigning it to another entity.”
“We felt duty-bound to defend the independence of the SARB as a key institution of our democracy and challenged the report in court.
The court ruled emphatically in our favour,” said Kganyago.
🇿🇦#TBT | 2 YEARS AGO TODAY
We Have to Regulate Crypto Due to Scams, Says Governor, South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB)
“Our approach is that we are going to have to regulate this because people go and invest in cryptos and when they lose money, they ask what government has done… pic.twitter.com/gDtyzJCX2w
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) September 7, 2023
__________________________________________
