Tebogo Msimanga |
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) says it is disappointed by the South African Reserve Bank’s failure to lower the repo rate significantly in the face of a slow-moving economy.
COSATU said while they acknowledge the fact that the Reserve Bank has cut the repo rate to a four-decade low, “we remain adamant that the SA Reserve Bank cannot afford to continue to consider broader economic development imperatives that include employment creation.”
COSATU National Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla added that the reserve bank’s monetary policy is a critical instrument for development and must be linked to monetary policy for developmental and redistributive processes.
“It is mind-boggling that the SARB failed to lower the repo rate a week after the devastation unleashed on workers, businesses, and consumers in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng; two provinces that constitute over 50% of the economy.”
COSATU maintains that a repo rate cut would have provided much needed and immediate relief to workers, consumers, and businesses struggling to feed their families, pay their debts, and keep afloat. “What the SARB has done is to remind workers they are on their own and the nation’s Reserve Bank is oblivious to the needs of the real economy but is obsessed with massaging the interests of lenders and bondholders.”
