Cape Town | Monday
FIVE stockbrokers, who allegedly conspired to push the South African currency weaker, are likely to be called before the Myburgh Commission of Inquiry into the rand woes, the City Press reported on Sunday.
The newspaper said the stockbrokers two former Zimbabweans, a New Zealander, a Briton and a South African were named in a leaked confidential document that had apparently been passed onto treasury officials.
Two of the individuals operated from a reputable commercial bank in Johannesburg, while the others worked from New York and London.
It said that President Thabo Mbeki, who commissioned the inquiry to be led by former judge John Myburgh earlier this month, had also received information on the five stockbrokers.
The president’s representative, Bheki Khumalo, said that any information the government received would be made available to the commission, but he did not know of the allegations against the five individuals.
”I am not aware of the information in that story,” he said.
The City Press reported that according to the document the individuals harboured ”racist and anti-African” sentiments, and that their actions were driven by political motives.
It was understood that they manipulated the rand’s weakness by working with brokers and dealers from several banks and other financial institutions, it said.
Mbeki announced early in January that Myburgh the former president of the Labour Appeals Court would head an inquiry into the currency’s sharp fall in 2001, and on Tuesday finalised its terms of reference.
This followed claims by SA Chamber of Business chief executive Kevin Wakeford that institutions and individuals had enriched themselves at the currency’s expense, evidence of which he handed to the presidency.
The commission has been tasked, among other things, to probe whether between January 1 and December 31 last year any person or institution acted illegally or unethically and contributed to the rand’s rapid depreciation relative to other currencies.
Myburgh would be joined by Advocate Kgomotso Moroka and Development Bank of Southern Africa CEO Mantla Gantsho in probing the rand’s fall.
They are expected to submit to Mbeki an interim report by April 30. – Sapa