Marcus: 3% growth won't create jobs

Johannesburg - While a growth rate of 3% may be a welcome development, it will not address the problem of unemployment, South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Gill Marcus said on Thursday.

Speaking at a seminar at the Soweto Campus of the University of Johannesburg, Marcus referred to the current environment as one of the most difficult economic periods in the last 100 years.

Marcus jokingly told the seminar that she was not going to answer any questions on whether or not the bank would cut interest rates when it meets next week.
 
Foreign ownership in South African banks was a difficult question and needed careful consideration, she added.

"In South Africa, it's more complex. We have ownership that's mixed. Mixed ownership of banks does have risks. It does create a situation of complexity and that needs careful consideration in my view," Marcus said.

She said the central bank's mandate was wider than inflation targeting and they also had to take growth and employment into account.