The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will complete the transfer of R100-billion of profits on the nation’s gold and foreign-exchange reserves to the Treasury by mid-August, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said.

“As of July 1, R100-billion had been transferred to the SARB, and roughly three quarters of the R100-billion due to National Treasury this year has already been paid out,” Kganyago told shareholders at the central bank’s ordinary general meeting Tuesday. “We expect to complete the transfers by mid-August,” he said.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced in his February budget that Treasury would restructure reserves held at the central bank to free up 150 billion rand over three years to to reduce debt issuance.

The country’s Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account, or GFECRA, showed paper profits of R507.3-billion rand as of January — a massive increase from the R1.8-billion rand in 2006 that reflects the South African currency’s slump in value against the dollar.

It’s been reorganised to release the payout to Treasury, with R250-billion remaining in the account to shield the country from losses should the rand gain in value, and 100 billion rand being allocated to the central bank to protect its balance sheet from loss.