This paper, commissioned by the National Planning Commission's Finance Working Group, explores the monetary architecture of South Africa and its implications for financing a just and inclusive green transition. Drawing on Steffen Murau's Monetary Architecture framework, the paper analyses the balance sheet of the South African Reserve Bank across four historical shock periods: 1983, 1994, 2008, and 2022.
A few reflections from the analysis show that :
- Stability has remained the central organising principle – but often with trade-offs that show up in employment, industrial growth, and how gains are distributed across the economy
- Financial flows, instruments, and regulatory frameworks have evolved in form over time (particularly after 1994 and 2008), but the underlying logic of the system has remained largely unchanged.
- During COVID-19, the SARB proved somewhat flexible – expanding liquidity, adjusting instruments and coordinating more closely across institutions; illustrating that boundaries of action can shift when required.
To explore what these findings mean for South Africa’s broader monetary architecture and its capacity to drive growth and reduce inequality and poverty, you can access the NPC’s Finance Working Group paper here.
