COSATU welcomes small cut in repo rate

The Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes today’s 50 basis points cut in the repo rate, to 6.5%, by the South African Reserve Bank`s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Although this is too little-too late, we hope that it is a turning point and that the Reserve Bank has finally listened to the debate in the ANC, COSATU and civil society and accepted the overwhelming argument that monetary policy must be guided by a mandate to promote economic growth and job creation, and not just to control inflation.

The federation agrees with the MPC that “the pace of (economic) recovery is expected to remain slow”, and welcomes its recognition that “the improved inflation environment has provided some space for an additional monetary stimulus to reinforce the sustainability of the upswing without jeopardising the achievement of the inflation target”.


We hope that businesses will now take advantage of this cut in
their interest payments by engaging new workers and retaining others whom they might otherwise have retrenched.

COSATU expects the Bank to continue to base its monetary policy on an analysis of the broader developments in the economy from now on, and to integrate its policies with those of the Departments of Trade and Industry and Economic Development which aim to take us on to a new economic growth path towards an economy based on manufacturing industry and job creation.