the principles of outcomes - based education. to stimulate research in the bank, a research fellows programme has been introduced in terms of which senior researchers from other central banks and academia are invited to spend time at the bank and engage in collaborative research. three research fellows, two of whom are from abroad, have already spent time at the bank in 2007, and a fourth is expected later in the year. applications have been invited for the 2008 programme. to contribute further to the economic research effort in the country, a conference on macroeconomic policy challenges for south africa was organised by the college in 2006. it included papers presented by leading academics from local and international universities, as well as other local economists. conclusion from a monetary policy perspective this past year has been particularly challenging for the bank. the international environment has been uncertain, and the recent turmoil in international markets means that further challenges and uncertainties lie ahead. nevertheless, the bank will continue to focus on achieving its mandate and will strive to bring inflation to within the target range. low and stable inflation remains the best contribution the bank can make to economic growth and development in south africa. the bank will continue to make a contribution to financial stability in the country. apart from oversight and regulation of the national payment system, future challenges are likely to come from the introduction of basel ii at the beginning of next year, the possible implications of the national credit act, and the impact of higher interest rates on a highly indebted population. we will not lose sight of the need to give attention to the internal management of the bank. the bank remains committed to the training and development of staff in the broader context of its employment equity plan. acknowledgements i want to thank the presidency, the government and parliament for their continued support. through the system of bilateral committees, the bank has maintained a good working relationship with the national treasury. i wish to thank the minister and deputy minister of finance, and the director - general of the national treasury and his staff for their ongoing support and co - operation. i also wish to express my thanks to the members of the board for their commitment to the bank. their efforts are important in ensuring effective corporate governance and strategic direction for the bank. last but by no means least, i wish to thank the deputy governors, management and staff of the bank for their support and contributions to the successful running of the bank. an organisation such as ours is only as good as the quality and commitment of its personnel. we are indeed fortunate to be able to

daniel mminele : south african national payment system framework and strategy document – vision 2015 opening remarks by mr daniel mminele, deputy governor of the south african reserve bank, on the occasion of the launch of the south african national payment system framework and strategy document – vision 2015, pretoria, 12 september 2011. * * * good day ladies and gentlemen. thank you for accepting our invitation to the launch of the south african national payment system framework and strategy document – vision 2015. the mandate of the south african reserve bank ’ s national payment system department ( npsd ) to oversee the payment system, emanates from the enabling legislation which is the south african reserve bank act, 1989 ( act no. 90 of 1989 – sarb act ). section 10 ( 1 ) ( c ) of the sarb act makes provision for the bank to perform such functions, implement such rules and procedures and, in general, take such steps as may be necessary to establish, conduct, monitor, regulate and supervise payment, clearing or settlement systems. during 1995 the bank published its first south african national payment system framework and strategy document – vision 2005. the vision 2005 document spanned a 10 - year period and contained strategies to modernise the south african national payment system ( nps ) and to align the domestic nps developments with international best practice. with the achievement of the major milestones and objectives envisaged in this document, a process was embarked upon to re - evaluate the nps vision, which process culminated in the strategy document published in april 2006, referred to as vision 2010. the vision 2010 focused, inter alia, on access for bank and non - bank participants, oversight of the nps, enhanced security and operational resilience in the nps, regional and international participation in payment system development, as well as increasing awareness of the features nps. the key strategic objectives outlined in the vision 2010 document have similarly been implemented and achieved. in late 2009 and early 2010, the npsd embarked on an extensive consultation and factfinding process to determine any new challenges facing the nps, and to establish if refinements to the strategic direction of the nps were required. payment systems are by nature dynamic and fast changing, and various challenges emerged nationally and internationally. it was decided that due to the demands and challenges facing the nps, a refinement of the strategic direction was required. the purpose of this framework is to provide a high - level updated strategic direction for the payment system up