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JOHANNESBURG Feb 10 (Reuters) – South African
President Jacob Zuma will make an announcement “of national
importance” on Saturday at 1300 GMT, with Finance Minister
Pravin Gordhan and Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus, a central
bank statement said on Friday.
The brief statement on the central bank’s website gave no
further details, although a government source said the
announcement was not related to any appointments.
It will come just two days after Zuma’s 2012 State of the
Nation address in which he pledged increased infrastructure
spending to quicken job creation.
The last time the Presidency called an emergency briefing
was to announce the departure of Lesetja Kganyago as head of the
National Treasury to take up the position of deputy governor at
the Reserve Bank.
The statement had South African traders and analysts
scratching their heads.
“Nobody knows what it is,” said an economist at one major
international bank. “If it was about inflation targeting or
something like that you would expect it to be in the budget,
which is only two weeks’ time.”
The Reserve Bank, which is currently under private
ownership, has grappled with shareholders it accuses of pursuing
a personal agenda to make profit at the expense of the national
interest.
The government said in 2010 it would amend the Reserve Bank
Act to tighten rules on its shareholding and would undertake a
wider review that could change it to public ownership.
(Reporting by Phumza Macanda; Editing by Ed Cropley)
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