President Zuma appoints Mr Lesetja Kganyago as SA Reserve Bank Governor

06 October 2014

The Minister of Finance,

The Governor and Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank,

Ladies and gentlemen of the media,

In terms of the Constitution, the primary objective of the South African Reserve Bank is to protect the value of the currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth in the Republic.

The Reserve Bank must perform its functions independently and without fear, favour or prejudice.

During the past five years, the Bank performed its functions in the context of a tough global financial crisis and challenging domestic economic factors.

The institution registered excellent performance during this difficult period, under the capable leadership of the Board, the Governor, Ms Gill Marcus and the Deputy Governors.

As you are aware, Ms Marcus will leave the Bank at the end of her term on the 8th of November 2014.

I would like to thank Ms Marcus for her sound leadership, commitment and dedication which has enabled the Bank to perform as well as it has done, under a difficult economic climate.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my pleasure today, to announce my decision to appoint Mr Lesetja Kganyago as Governor of the South African Reserve Bank with effect from the 9th of November 2014.

I appointed Mr Kganyago as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank in 2011, which should enable a smooth transition to his new position as he is already part of the team.

The Governor-designate has wide-ranging experience in financial markets. He is highly regarded for his extensive knowledge and expertise of the South African and global financial systems. 

Incidentally, the Governor-designate worked at the Reserve Bank as Assistant Manager for Investment Dealing in 1994, which gave him an insight into what happens at the lower levels of the institution.

The Governor-designate also brings the experience of having served in government at a top management level, as a former Director-General of the National Treasury from 2004. He had joined the Treasury in 1996.

During his tenure as Director-General, he successfully steered several public finance and financial market reforms.

As DG of the Treasury he led South Africa's technical team to various meetings of G20 Ministers of Finance and Governors and the G20 Presidential Summits. 

The Governor-designate holds among other qualifications, a Master of Science degree in Development Economics from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting and Economics from the University of South Africa.

Among various positions earlier in his career, Mr Kganyago served as economics coordinator and accountant for the African National Congress and as an accountant for COSATU.

I wish Mr Kganyago all the best in this new responsibility. I have no doubt that he will acquit himself as proficiently in this new role as he has previously done in other strategic positions.

We have now begun the process of filling the vacancy of Deputy Governor that will be created and an announcement will be made in due course.

I thank you.

PROFILE OF MR LESETJA KGANYAGO

Career Overview

EXPERTISE: Macroeconomic Strategy, Financial Sector Regulation and Oversight, Public Sector Financial Management, Organizational Leadership and Transformation.

Mr Lesetja Kganyago has been Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank since May 2011.  In this role he has been responsible for various areas ranging from Research, Financial Stability, Risk Management and Compliance; and the SARB College.  He is currently responsible for Bank Supervision, Financial Regulatory Reform (introducing the Twin-Peaks regulatory structure) and Financial Surveillance (responsible for the regulation of cross-border flows).

Mr Kganyago has wide-ranging experience in Macroeconomic Policy formulation, Financial Sector Policy, Public Finance, International Finance, Public Debt Management and Financial Markets.

During his tenure as Director-General of the National Treasury, Mr Kganyago successfully steered several public finance and financial market reforms. He played a lead role in the fundamental reform of the micro-structure of domestic bond markets, including reforms to the auction system and introduction of new financial instruments such as inflation-linked bonds, buy-backs, switches and STRIPS.  During the period a fundamental reform in management of the national debt portfolio was completed.

Mr Kganyago led South Africa's technical team to various G-20 Ministers of Finance and Governors meetings and the Summits (including the inaugural Summit in 2008).  He is well respected in international fora for having chaired the Development Committee Deputies, chaired the G-20 Working Group on IMF governance reform and was also the vice-chair of the Financial Stability Board's Standing Committee on Implementation Standards for a period of four years.

Issued by The Presidency, October 6 2014

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