Chairperson, we note with concern that, for the third time in a row, the South African Reserve Bank failed to appear last Friday in front of the Portfolio Committee on Finance.
There are different reasons, versions and justifications for this failure, but the fact remains that at this crucial time of our economic crisis with recurring rumours of tumult within the Reserve Bank and several reports about the steps which have been taken within its internal procedures, it's a very serious problem that Parliament is not placed in the position of exercising its oversight function.
The Reserve Bank exercises a power which to a certain extent is greater than any law that this Parliament may enact. To date, the decision on the interest rate and money supply determines whether or not we can repay our house bonds, whether business can refinance its capex and whether people are going to be employed or will need to be retrenched.
It is a grave disservice to the call of oversight and the call of democracy that the Reserve Bank is not yet in a position to meet with Parliament and we urge that the state of affairs be brought back to normality even if that requires the chairman of the Finance committee to issue a subpoena.