Opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday warned the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to stop debating the nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) as it is economically destructive.

This follows Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s recent tweet which suggested that the party’s resolution to nationalise the Reserve Bank was a mistake. 

DA Shadow Finance Minister Geordin Hill-Lewis said the ANC’s internecine battle over the nationalisation of the SARB was also alienating investors, and did nothing to solve South Africa’s current crises.

He echoed Mboweni’s sentiments and called for the ruling party to instead focus on any number of economic crises which are a direct result of bad government policy.

“The proposal to nationalise the Reserve Bank is based on economic lunacy. It will bring no benefit, and only increased hardship, to South Africa. If President Cyril Ramaphosa has any desire to prove he actually leads his own government, he should end this discussion immediately by reinforcing the independence of the Reserve Bank. Instead, he is kneeling to populists in his party and allowing this debate to continue,” said Hill-Lewis.

He stressed that, with South Africa’s economic collapse accelerating, the ANC should listen to Mboweni.