. namely : that we are committed to performance that is second to none among the central banks of the world. it was a challenging goal then, and it still is. but we ’ re getting there. we ’ re doing outstanding work in monetary policy ; i ’ m very proud of the way we have continued to meet our inflation control targets. in the area of currency we ’ re producing new bank notes in the canadian journey series. the new $ 100 bill represents the first of three new notes being issued this year ; notes that are designed to be secure, durable and well - accepted. here at the bank we are fostering an ongoing atmosphere of trust, respect and innovation through our strong system of values. we continue to place a strong emphasis on research and analysis in all aspects of our work. how else is our commitment to excellence in evidence? there are the partnerships we are cultivating both within and outside the bank. we are communicating clearly and openly. we are nurturing leadership at all levels. and we are cultivating diversity, both of people and of ideas. together, in all of these ways, we have been achieving excellence. the third commitment we made was to each other. we were clear that we wanted our work environment to be founded on a strong set of values. the first of these is that we articulate our own ideas and listen to those of others. we agreed to share knowledge and experience so that we could all learn from each other. then, there was a pledge to develop our talent and careers to achieve personal excellence. your own development, of course, has always rested first and foremost with you. but the bank has been providing some of the impetus, and helping to create an environment that is conducive to learning and growing and an environment where the two official languages are used interchangeably. “ knowledge sharing ” is vital to our organization. i hope that together we can progress further in making the bank a true knowledge - sharing institution as we complete our medium - term plan. and while the bank is encouraging you to excel by developing yourself, there is also the recognition of the fact that you have a life outside the bank. we committed ourselves to working in an environment where each employee is respected. when we respect each other as individuals, then we can have the kind of debates that we need to help us become the best we can be. we can have clashes of ideas secure in the knowledge that there are no winners or losers. or rather, that we

dr. stals elucidates the functions of the south african reserve bank presentation by the governor of the south african reserve bank, dr. c. stals, to the nedlac executive council in johannesburg on 28 / 2 / 97. 1. the mandate to the south african reserve bank the south african reserve bank was established in 1921 in terms of a special act of parliament. at that time, central banks existed mainly in europe, and the sa reserve bank was only the fourth central bank founded outside europe. there already existed central banks in the united states of america, japan and java. since its establishment, the reserve bank was always privately owned. today, the bank has more than 700 shareholders. the shares of the bank are listed on the johannesburg stock exchange and, in terms of the act, no individual shareholder is allowed to hold more than one - half per cent of the capital of the bank. the bank may also never pay a dividend of more than 10 per cent per annum on the nominal value of its capital. the market price of the share therefore behaves like a government bond with a 10 per cent coupon. the bank is managed by a board of 14 directors, seven of whom are elected by the shareholders to represent them on the board. without holding any shares in the bank, the government ( president ) has the right to appoint the other seven board members. the seven appointed by the president includes the governor and three deputy governors, who are full - time executive members, plus three part - time directors. the functions of the bank changed over time. when the bank was originally established in 1921, its main task was to develop money and capital markets and a banking system in south africa that would be independent of london. today its main task, as defined in terms of the south african reserve bank act and in the constitution of the republic of south africa, is to defend the value of the rand, that is, to keep inflation as low as possible. this is very much in line with contemporary central banking all over the world. since 1980, most central banks have accepted a similar mission. the latest example is perhaps the people ’ s bank of china, whose mandate has been changed as from march 1995 to maintain the stability of the chinese yuan, and in this way to promote economic growth. the board of the reserve bank has been given an important degree of autonomy for the execution of its duties. in terms of the constitution : “ the south african reserve bank, in pursuit