South Africa Central Bank Says Anti-Graft Head Met Zuma Team
- Investigation turned into ‘attack on the Reserve Bank’: lawyer
- Public Protector’s remedial action ‘had an ulterior purpose’
The headquarters of the South African Reserve Bank
Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
South Africa’s central bank accused the Public Protector of bias and being part of a campaign to undermine its independence as documents showed the graft ombudsman held a secret meeting with President Jacob Zuma’s lawyers before proposing changes to its mandate.
The investigation by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane of an apartheid-era bailout turned “to an attack on the Reserve Bank” and not about whether Barclays Africa Group Ltd.’s Absa should repay the money, central bank Advocate Johann de Jager said in court papers filed on Monday. She also failed to disclose a meeting with the presidency’s lawyers held before her findings were released, he said.