Pretoria - Newly appointed SA Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago on Monday vowed not to let the country down.
"I've got no doubt that eyes will be on me and I want to say I will not disappoint," he said in Pretoria.
He was addressing reporters after President Jacob Zuma announced his appointment at the Union Buildings.
READ: New Sarb governor appointment - as it happened
Kganyago thanked Zuma and the country for their trust in him.
"I do not take this task for granted," he said, adding that he would continue where Gill Marcus had left off.
He was one of two of Marcus's deputies, alongside Daniel Mminele.
Marcus would vacate the position on November 8 and Kganyago would assume duties the next day.
On Monday she graciously congratulated her successor, embracing Kganyago following Zuma's announcement that he would take over from her on November 9.
"You're going to have an amazing experience and you have a wonderful team to work with," said Marcus.
Kganyago spoke highly of Marcus, describing her as a matriarch. He vowed to serve the country well.
He said the primary objective of the Sarb is to protect the value of the rand in the interest of balanced and sustainable growth.
"Growth can't be balanced if there are internal and external imbalances," Kganyago said.
Kganyago profile
Career overview
Expertise: Macroeconomic Strategy, Financial Sector Regulation and Oversight, Public Sector Financial Management, Organisational Leadership and Transformation.
Kganyago has been Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank since May 2011. In this role he has been responsible for various areas ranging from Research, Financial Stability, Risk Management and Compliance; and the Sarb College. He is currently responsible for Bank Supervision, Financial Regulatory Reform (introducing the Twin-Peaks regulatory structure) and Financial Surveillance (responsible for the regulation of cross-border flows).
Kganyago has wide-ranging experience in Macroeconomic Policy formulation, Financial Sector Policy, Public Finance, International Finance, Public Debt Management and Financial Markets.
During his tenure as Director-General of the National Treasury, Kganyago successfully steered several public finance and financial market reforms. He played a lead role in the fundamental reform of the micro-structure of domestic bond markets, including reforms to the auction system and introduction of new financial instruments such as inflation-linked bonds, buy-backs, switches and STRIPS. During the period a fundamental reform in management of the national debt portfolio was completed.
Kganyago led South Africa's technical team to various G-20 Ministers of Finance and Governors meetings and the Summits (including the inaugural Summit in 2008). He is well respected in international fora for having chaired the Development Committee Deputies, chaired the G-20 Working Group on IMF governance reform and was also the vice-chair of the Financial Stability Board's Standing Committee on Implementation Standards for a period of four years. (Source: The Presidency)