A dissenting report by one of the three commissioners probing the reasons for the rand’s slide last year has been submitted to South African Justice Minister Penuell Maduna, the ministry said on Thursday.
Lawyer and columnist Christine Qunta — known for her views that racism is still prevalent in South Africa — has rejected the findings of the official inquiry into the rand’s slump, which submitted its final report to the government last week.
Analysts have said her report is unlikely to undermine the impact of the final report written by the other two commissioners.
The other two commissioners are advocate John Myburgh, who headed the inquiry, and Mandla Gantsho, head of the Development Bank of South Africa.
President Thabo Mbeki launched the inquiry in January after a leading businessman alleged that ”dubious deals” played a role in the rand’s historic 37% slump against the dollar in 2001, which mainly took place in the final weeks of the year.
Its depreciation has ignited inflation pressures, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates by three percentage points so far this year — a trend which many fear will stunt growth and keep investors at bay.
The rand has clawed back about 17% of its value against the dollar so far in 2002. – Reuters