Lesetja Kganyago takes reins as the new Reserve Bank Governor

Lesetja Kganyago appointed new governor of South African Reserve Bank seen shaking hands with President Jacob Zuma after the announcement.

President Jacob Zuma today named Lesetja Kganyago to replace Gill Marcus as the new governor of South African Reserve Bank with effect from 09 November 2014.

He will be the tenth governor of the central bank since its founding in 1921.

It was initially expected that Kganyago would replace outgoing governor Tito Mboweni in 1999 but the job went instead to Marcus.

Kganyago has been with the bank since May 2011 after heading the national treasury for more than seven years as director general.

"I will not disappoint ... I don’t have to reinvent anything, I just have to carry on from where Ms Marcus left," Mr Kganyago said.

Outgoing governor Gill Marcus announced that she will not be seeking a second term at the monetary policy committee media briefing on 18 September.

President Zuma commended Marcus’ work over the past five years, saying the Reserve Bank had “acted independently, without fear, favour or prejudice” and thanked her for her dedication and leadership in a difficult economic climate.

Marcus governed during a challenging time for the domestic and global economy. She took over in 2009, as international markets were reeling from the global financial crisis and advanced country economies were in recession.

She steered the local economy through a downturn in 2009. For most of her term, the central bank’s monetary policy committee was on a loosening path, with the repo rate falling between 2009 and 2012 from 10.5 percent to 5 percent. The central bank then went on a tightening path from January this year, raising the repo rate to 5.5 percent then 5.75 percent in July 2014.

Kganyago holds an MSc in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and various diplomas.