##nched in sections 224 and 225 of the constitution of the republic of south africa. in carrying out its mandate, the sarb does not bow to any pressure, be it political or from the private sector. the sarb accounts to the people of south africa through parliament. page 2 of 4 shareholding in the sarb is based exclusively on the principles of shared community representation and participation in the governance of the sarb in order to enhance the independence, transparency and accountability of the sarb in the interest of all south africans. the sarb has a total of 2 million ordinary shares and its shareholders are paid a fixed annual dividend of 10 cents per share, as stipulated by the law. sarb shareholders have no say on any policy decisions that the executive management of the sarb takes in implementing the sarb ’ s constitutional mandate. however, sarb shareholders can elect a maximum of seven non - executive directors of the board of the sarb from a list of candidates approved by a panel chaired by the governor of the sarb. these votes are normally exercised at the annual ordinary general meeting ( agm ) of the sarb and each shareholder is limited to 1 vote for every 200 shares held. it just so happens that, earlier this week, the sarb put out a call for the nomination of candidates for election as non - executive directors to the board. i would once again like to encourage all members of the public to nominate candidates who have skills and experience in the mining sector, labour sector and commerce or finance sectors. nominations close on friday, 17 march 2017 and forms are available on the sarb website. sarb shareholders can vote from an approved list of candidates following a rigorous pre - qualification process, including an evaluation of the nominees by a panel. page 3 of 4 sarb shareholders are also required to discuss the annual report and the audit reports of the sarb, appoint its external auditors and approve their remuneration, and consider any special business that may have been placed on the agenda of the agm. in conclusion, let me take this opportunity to once again encourage all south africans to get a share of the sarb today – and in so doing join the sarb in serving the economic well - being of all south africans. thank you. page 4 of 4

and oecd are looking more encouraging than just a few months ago. how permanent this improvement is, however, remains to be seen. caution is warranted, nonetheless, as temporary monetary and fiscal stimulus measures may be providing a false sense of security. as for south africa, although growth continued to contract in the second quarter of this year, the pace of contraction slowed from - 6, 4 per cent in the first quarter to - 3, 1 per cent in the second quarter. the manufacturing sector appears to be turning the corner ; the purchasing manager ’ s index seems to be steadily climbing back towards the 50 threshold. businesses and consumers are also more optimistic as reflected by the confidence indices. the composite leading indicator of the south african reserve bank has been increasing during the last three, indicating that a recovery can be expected by the end of the year. 8. conclusion in conclusion, there are encouraging signs that the global slowdown may have reached its lower turning point. there remains a high degree of uncertainty attached to the speed and extent of the recovery, however, the swift manner in which authorities reacted have certainly borne fruit. developments in the south african economy are very much influenced by global economic developments. while we lagged on the way down, it is likely that we will lag on the way up. taking cognisance of the global financial and economic environment, and domestic developments with regard to growth, monetary policy will remain primarily focused on inflation management. thank you.