The Inkatha Freedom Party today welcomed Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni's decision to reduce the repo rate by 50 basis points, to 11.5%. 

"The IFP believes that today's interest rate cut will provide a lot of relief to struggling consumers, especially those living in abject poverty. We are however disappointed that the Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee was not able to cut interest rates by 1%, but we are sure this will be the first of many more rate cuts to come in future," said Hennie Bekker, the IFP's Finance Spokesperson.  

The IFP today once again called for determined efforts to assist the poor. 

"The IFP believes that we need focused policies to assist the poor - low prices for paraffin and other items that feature high in the budgets of poor households should urgently be reviewed. Such an approach would have the bonus of slowing down targeted inflation and opening-up possibilities for further interest rate cuts," concluded Bekker.
 

Contact:
Hennie Bekker
083 255 4520.