Page 153 - SARB: 100-Year Journey

The SARB’s culture in the early days of democracy: Stals’s second term (1994−1999)
Inside the SARB, developments and the changing political landscape and environment were being watched with a dose of fear and slight trepidation about what all this meant for the institution’s autonomy.
Rossouw admits: “The political transition ushered in a lot of uncertainty because nobody knew what would happen to the central bank. The announcement in the opening of Parliament address of Mr Nelson Mandela, after the 1994 elections, that Dr Stals would be appointed for a second term as Governor, brought much- needed stability.”
In 1994, the SARB introduced a Cadet programme (now referred to as the Graduate Development Programme). In the early 1990s, “we started employing people of colour: Coloured people first; and then black people,” Van der Merwe said.
Guma broke the mould in 1995 when he was appointed as an economist, making him the most senior black professional the SARB had ever employed.
“That was a very, very difficult time. The whole country was in transition. A lot of institutions had to adjust to the reality that it could not just be one group of people,” Guma said.
The initial months were rough for Guma. In the then Economics Department, Guma worked with a group of mostly Afrikaner male colleagues. His presence there raised suspicion, and it took him two years to establish professional ties. Lunch breaks were especially lonely because no one wanted to share a table with Guma.
One particular professional run-in with the Deputy Governor responsible for the Economics Department at the time stands out.
“When I was taken to Jaap Meijer’s office to be introduced as this new black economist, the fellow refused to shake hands with me. He said it was not possible for a black person to have a doctorate and asked me where I had acquired this thing. I took offence to that, and I told him where I had qualified and I asked him where had he qualified; was it the Rand Afrikaans University? And we had a rather unpleasant exchange,” Guma said.
Broadly speaking, the SARB was held in high regard. “But I think there was this uncertainty on the part of many people, on where it was going to go if these black people were coming in. That was the initial period,” he said.
Guma adds: “Among the young people I met there was one Lesetja Kganyago, who is today the Governor. He left [to work at the National Treasury] soon after I had arrived.”
Those young black professionals who braved the institution began congregating around Guma’s table during lunch breaks. His lunch spot became known as ‘Guma’s table’. “But I learnt, to my consternation, around 1998 that this notion of Guma’s table had reached the ears of the President and the Deputy President.”
“We were suddenly visited by the then- Economic Adviser of then Deputy President [Thabo] Mbeki, Moss Ngoasheng. I asked what the issue was. He said, ‘We keep hearing about this cabal known as Guma’s table. We want to know what you people are plotting.’ That was how things were. But when I left [the SARB], the dining areas were fully integrated. People were people. It was not like in 1995.”
Deputy Governor Dr XP Guma served at the SARB for 16 years. /Financial Mail
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