credit act, to be implemented in the middle of this year will provide further protection to consumers. there are however always two sides to every transaction, and consumers should also act responsibly when taking on further debt. 3. accountability of the bank as noted earlier, our operational mandate is to keep cpix inflation between 3 to 6 per cent and the bank has autonomy in the conduct of monetary policy. it is well recognised that autonomy goes hand in hand with accountability. thus, one of the primary measures of accountability relates to how the bank has performed in relation to its operational mandate. monetary policy has been successful in achieving the inflation target since september 2003 when cpix moved to within the target range. this allowed for a reduction in the repo rate by 650 basis points between june 2003 and april 2005. in 2006, in response to perceived risks to the inflation outlook, the monetary policy committee increased the repo rate by 50 basis points at four consecutive meetings from june. despite this adjustment, economic growth has remained strong and we expect growth rates of around 5 per cent to be sustained. although monetary policy cannot claim all the credit, its contribution to the economy ’ s robust growth performance over the last couple of years is well recognised in many circles. our accountability extends beyond simply achieving the inflation target. since the announcement of an inflation target in south africa, any ambiguity about the ultimate goal of monetary policy has been removed. the smooth conduct of an inflation targeting framework implies a great deal of trust and confidence on the part of the public in a central bank ’ s ability and determination to achieve the target. without this credibility in the eyes of the public, a central bank ’ s policy goal is not easily achievable. since the introduction of an inflation targeting policy framework, the bank has introduced a number of initiatives to improve transparency and communication with all its stakeholders to enhance the credibility of monetary policy. in fact, communication plays an important role in fulfilling the bank ’ s obligation of accountability. for example, decisions of the monetary policy committee ( mpc ) are announced after each meeting at a televised media conference, where the motivation for the decision is explained. media representatives also have an opportunity to question the monetary policy decision and the policy stance. the publication of a bi - annual monetary policy review also broadens the understanding of the aims and conduct of monetary policy. the review analyses developments in and factors influencing inflation, assesses recent policy developments and considers the outlook for inflation. in conjunction with statements after mpc

daniel mminele : a delicate balancing act – how to reconcile upside medium term inflation risks with near term growth concerns keynote address by mr daniel mminele, deputy governor of the south african reserve bank, at the bank of america merrill lynch 10th annual investor - to - corporate conference 2011, cape town, 18 october 2011. * 1. * * introduction good morning ladies and gentlemen. the topic i have been asked to speak on is quite an appropriate one at this juncture, but also a very difficult one, consuming the minds of many central bankers around the world, particularly in emerging market countries. the world has never fully come out of the crisis that started in 2008 ; we have just seen the form of the crisis evolving over time. now, four years later, the global economy appears to be once again on the precipice and could tilt in either direction, depending on the resolve of policy makers to finally put in place comprehensive and credible plans to fully address sovereign debt and banking sector risks, in order to deal with current near - term downside risks to the global economy. this should then open the way for undertaking the necessary structural reforms required to tackle underlying root causes, and thus put the global economy on a stronger, sustainable and more balanced footing in the medium term. my comments this morning will focus more generally on the dilemma facing many emerging market economies today, notably, elevated inflation and slowing growth. this is in stark contrast to the situation one year ago, when emerging markets were faced with rising inflation and stronger growth. thereafter, i will delve a little deeper into the inflation and growth dynamics in south africa. 2. reconciling inflation and growth real economic activity in advanced economies has slowed considerably, confidence has fallen sharply and financial sector risks have intensified. this has added to an already complicated environment, characterised by high levels of public debt. growth dynamics in emerging market economies are in much better shape than advanced economies, but interlinkages in the global economy render emerging markets vulnerable and they may not be in a position, as they were in the past, to carry the global economy. ultimately, emerging market growth is highly dependent on growth in advanced economies, as we saw recently after china recorded a sharp slowdown in exports, due to softer growth in the us and europe. emerging market central banks have also had to contend with strong capital inflows over the past few years owing to a search for yield, and resulting in appreciating currencies. we were