A good week for Lesetja Kganyago
Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago knew he had a fight on his hands when he first announced plans to lower South Africa’s inflation target. His victory was revealed in last week’s medium-term budget. Markets welcomed the new target of 3% and the rand got its glow on, dropping to below R17 to the dollar on the news. It was the first adjustment to the target in 25 years. The benchmark 2035 bond yield fell to 8.61%, the lowest since 2018, as investors welcomed improved fiscal discipline and higher foreign inflows — R175bn this year compared with R73bn in 2024.
A bad week for Dion George
Just why he got the boot remains unclear. Was it because former DA cabinet minister Dion George opposed canned lion hunting, or because he was not following orders, or had “underperformed”, or because he was just a micromanager and a compulsive traveller? His party, and DA leader John Steenhuisen, have not convincingly explained. Meanwhile, conservationists, some scientists and the national SPCA expressed unhappiness with his successor at the department of forestry, fisheries & the environment, DA spokesperson Willie Aucamp, who has been associated with wildlife breeding and hunting.
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