Dear Mr Mboweni, Yesterday you gave a speech in which you compared interest rates increases as having the desired bite on the inflation of a economy. You said that barking has not helped when in fact you have increased rates several time. This metaphor you are describing is reminding me of that infamous news clip of the apartheid police letting the dogs loose on black people, do you remember? What you are doing now is barking that you will let the dogs loose on a whole economy, which I believe have strayed because of the false information that the inflation was ever within the inflation target. How could it have been possible that the inflation was ever within the target when house prices were going through the roof, my rates have more that doubled unjustifiably of which an objection to date has not been rectified. Stock market have also more than doubled of which banking stocks have suffered a huge down fall due to the barking you so savagely have described. I believe that if the interest rates were gradually increased four years ago when the false illusion was believed that the inflation was within target and banks therefore were not misguided in their lending--a runaway inflation would have been avoided and these big bite interest rate increases you are warning avoided. The fault can not just be blamed on the misinformation given but to the world economy at large. Rocketing oil and resource prices, food shortage, global warning are but a few concerning matters that are not doing any good for the real inflation numbers. To avoid a full recession the USA has lowered interest rates to all time lows, there is no justification in the South African economy to now increase interest rate to the levels that you believe will lower inflation. To the contrary, biting deep into the economy with high interest rates now will only give it gangrene. The rate increases that were implemented months ago take time to filter through and the last increases are not yet shown in the numbers you have at your disposal. Yet we all know that the inflation on the housing sector is in deflation, not to mention the motoring, finacial and retail sector. So why are you barking at the South African public because of the oil price, when you should be barking at the Arabs for not turning open the taps wide enough to quench world needs? By turning open the oil taps more wider will also help to cool off the speculation that has driven the oil futures market in the direction of a one way bet. I hope that you and your colleges understand what is really going on in the economy and should take advise from professional business men and women who have businesses and are in the real economy. Yours sincerely, Giuseppe Vittorio Vitali.
