Page 139 - SARB: 100-Year Journey

The onset of democracy introduced new anxieties into the apartheid civil service as a whole. The SARB was no different. Not only were many apartheid-era civil servants fearful about the future; in general, there were also concerns about job security. At the same time, many harboured deeply held beliefs about the competence of their new, black colleagues after a lifetime of living in a country steeped in racism.
This made Tito Mboweni’s appointment as the eighth SARB Governor all the more significant and historical. It was symbolic and represented a practical step towards influencing change from within the SARB. At the time of Mboweni’s appointment, investors and the markets placed a lot of faith in President Nelson Mandela to ‘hold things together’ and to ‘keep the radicals at bay’.
Today, the SARB is a diverse organisation. Mboweni’s appointment paved the way for more diverse hires to the top posts. Gill Marcus became the first woman Governor and led the institution into an era of greater transparency. During her tenure, the SARB began publishing an Annual Report in line with corporate governance rules, and in which the central bank detailed the levels of diversity within the institution in terms of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998.
Fears that professional standards would drop when a democratic government took over have long been dispelled. The SARB continues to demonstrate capability and attracts some of the country’s best talent.
SARB Governor Tito Mboweni with deputy governors Gill Marcus (third from left), James Cross and Timothy Thahane pictured with non-executive members of the SARB Board in August 1999, when Mboweni made history and became the first black person to head the institution. Some of the prominent non-executive directors pictured include Dr Mamphela Ramphele (back row, far right) and late academic Prof. Vishnu Padayachee (back row, second from far right). /SARB
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