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Cape Town – The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Tuesday said it will proceed with an application for the review of the Public Protector’s report into Bankorp regarding “evidential factual inaccuracies”.
This follows the announcement by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane that she will not oppose the SARB’s review application following her report in which she called for the constitutional mandate of the bank to be changed.
The SARB filed the application at the North Gauteng High Court on Tuesday June 27, following Mkhwebane's remedial action. She ordered that the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services initiate a process to change the constitutional mandate of the Reserve Bank.
In her report, the Public Protector found that an amount of R1.125bn was an illegal gift to Bankorp/ABSA Bank and the matter was referred to the Special Investigation Unit to approach the president to "re-open and amend the proclamation of May 1998, in order to recover misappropriated public funds unlawfully given to Bankorp/ABSA Bank", the statement read.
The Public Protector filed her answering affidavit in respect of SARB’s judicial review application, in which she explained the reasons for arriving at the remedial action.
Responding, SARB said in a statement on Tuesday that it noted the Public Protector's decision “not to oppose its application to the High Court for the urgent review of her remedial action directing Parliament to effect a constitutional amendment to the Reserve Bank’s powers”.
“The SARB is consulting its legal team about the way forward.
"However, as announced in a media statement of the 20th of June, the SARB will proceed with a separate application for the review of the Public Protector’s report and evidential factual inaccuracies therein.”
