SARB hits back at Mkhwebane’s claims of ‘challenges’ in VBS probe – report

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has hit back at Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, saying it already responded to her in September and was awaiting her feedback regarding the VBS Mutual Bank saga, according to eNCA.

This comes after Mkhwebane, at a media briefing on Thursday, claimed that the public protector’s office was experiencing challenges in the investigation, News24 reported.

“There is also a pending investigation on the role of the [SARB] in the whole VBS saga. We are experiencing challenges with this one because the bank seems to believe that we do not have jurisdiction over it.

“They seem to have misinterpreted the Constitutional Court judgment on personal costs,” she said.

But eNCA reported that the SARB said while it did not comment on ongoing investigations, it “finds it surprising that the public protector finds it necessary to address these matters publicly, whilst an investigation is ongoing”.

Speaking to the broadcaster, Mkhwebane said the investigation should be complete by now and added that her office experienced “challenges of receiving cooperation from state institutions, including the reserve bank”.

She said her office had received a complaint from the DA regarding the role of municipal officials in the VBS matter, alleging that this was in violation of the Municipal Finance Management Act.

Another complaint, Mkhwebane said, was from a “member of the public” regarding the role the reserve bank should have played in the matter as a regulator.

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