POLITICAL analysts have minced no words in blaming the government for advancing policies that appeared to be deregulating financial institutions and other big corporations – allowing these companies to commit treasonous acts and rig the economy of South Africa.
This comes after the UK-based Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) admitted to being one of 28 banks responsible for manipulating the US dollar-rand exchange rate between 2007 and 2013.
The Competition Commission said the country lost trillions of rand during this period.
Independent political analyst and senior lecturer at the University of Limpopo Dr Metji Makgoba, weighed in blaming the role of government in advancing “full-blown and free-market neoliberal policies” that encouraged the domination of corporations.
“Their policies are mostly deregulating capital in South Africa. This domination allows corporations to engage in corrupt activities because they know that the role of the state in the market is stifled and suppressed.
“As the ideology of corporate domination and the plunder of finance capital, neoliberalism discourages state intervention in political and economic affairs and frames big government as either incompetent or limiting to individual freedom.
“This ideological posture intends to position the markets and corporations as powerful agents above governments and citizens. Under this ethos, corporations are increasingly freed from social control through deregulation, and privatisation under the guise that the markets are the neutral driving force of social relations and the essential precondition for the fair distribution of wealth and political democracy,” Makgoba said.
Makgoba felt that the deregulations and the markets allowed corporations to abuse their freedom by fixing prices and manipulating the rand because neoliberal policies have even given corporations the power to regulate the state and how far it can go in terms of enforcing radical policies.
“Under these conditions, the ANC follows the false belief that the markets are neutral, however, the current issue shows that the markets are corrupt and cannot be left alone by corporations.
“The markets are dominated by the same corporations and oligarchs who extend their power beyond their trading relationships through their ownership of the media and their funding and control of political parties,” he said.
Independent Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe stated that the rand manipulation was a treasonous act adding that the silence of some well-known civil society organisations was deliberate.
“There is no doubt that manipulating the rand is a crime. The seeming lack of interest in reporting this criminal act by mainstream media and so-called civil society does not come as a surprise. The truth is that they are all funded by the grouping responsible for most of the mayhem experienced by the SA economy.
“The hypocrisy of these groups could not have been more blatant. Ordinary folks are sent to jail on the basis of dubious claims. The rich simply brandish their banknotes and walk scott-free. That is the nature of our criminal injustice system,” explained Seepe.
He concluded by stating that given the balance of interests, he did not expect the culprits to face jail time.
Economist Professor Bonke Dumisa had a different view on the alleged rand manipulation and stated that although there were such activities, the issue should not be exaggerated.
“Let us give South Africa some space to deal with this issue, it is not fair to put so much pressure on the South African Reserve Bank.
“The reason why everyone is talking about the rand manipulation is because of the investigation that was conducted by the Competition Commission which led to some four financial institutions conceding that these things happened, but this does not mean that at present we have such things taking place,” Dumisa said.
Dumisa encouraged the courts to sentence those who were responsible for currency rigging and said that collusive behavior should be dealt with.
While the Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni warns that there will be consequences against banks that were implicated in the manipulation of the rand, the ANC, SACP and EFF, and civil society said this was a slap on the wrist and they demanded more tough action.
The ANC and EFF called for the prosecution of those who were involved in currency manipulation.
“The EFF maintains that all those who admit guilt to the charges of currency manipulation must lose their banking licenses. Furthermore, the directors and staff members who were involved must also be prosecuted, and their assets must be seized,” said EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo.
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za