Sacob CEO Kevin Wakeford on Monday declined to respond immediately to a SA Reserve Bank (SARB) threat to sue him for suggesting the bank’s actions may have contributed towards the rand’s sharp decline last year.
Wakeford told Sapa he may respond within ”a day or two”.
It all depended on ”other parties”, he said.
SARB Governor Tito Mboweni reportedly wants an apology from the South African Chamber of Business CEO for insinuating the central bank may have colluded with companies and caused the currency’s fall.
Failing which, he is considering legal action, the Sunday Times reported.
A commission of inquiry, headed by Judge John Myburgh, found in its recently-released report no evidence that Reserve Bank or Treasury officials had colluded with market participants to affect the rand.
A minority report by commissioner Christine Qunta said some exchange control restrictions may have been violated, and recommended further investigation, but added that the central bank could not be held responsible for the rand’s fall.
Wakeford wrote to President Thabo Mbeki in January claiming that dubious transactions may have led to the rand’s fall, by almost 40%, against the US dollar in 2001.
He suggested the devaluation could have been the result of manipulation by individuals and institutions, naming Deutsche Bank as a possible culprit.
The Sacob CEO also said that Deutsche’s management had ”strong links and relationships” with the department of finance and the Reserve Bank.
Mbeki established the commission shortly afterwards.
Finance representative Logan Wort said on Monday the National Treasury was ”not particularly interested in Wakeford’s acrobatics”.
Wakeford had claimed to have information on alleged collusion, but had refused to discuss it with Treasury officials.
”We are not particularly interested in what Wakeford is doing… if he really respected the institutions that regulate things he would have come to us.”
The Treasury was more interested in what implications the commission’s findings had regarding exchange control regulations, Wort said.
Shortly after the release of the Myburgh Commission’s report, Wakeford said further investigations were needed.
He said the commission had failed to conduct widespread investigations, and limited its efforts to certain areas. It had also failed to probe the possibility of collusion and manipulation in the markets.
Wakeford said the investigation, which cost R14,7-million, had directly benefited South Africa’s foreign exchange reserves to the tune of R800-million, in terms of an undertaking by Deutsche Bank to pay this amount to the SARB.
This had to do with transactions Deutsche Bank conducted in contravention of SARB rules.
The existence of the commission had deepened public participation and strengthened democracy, he said. – Sapa