The Minister of Finance, has published amendments to the Financial Sector Regulations under Gazette 43581 intended to simplify the process of appointing the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

The amendments provide that:

  • The Minister must re-appoint a shortlisting panel (two panellists being the Deputy Govrnor of the South African Reserve Bank and the National Consumer Commissioner), to assist with filling the vacant posts;
  • The re-appointed panel is required to submit recommendations to the Minister within 60 days from the date of publication of the regulations. The posts for the positions were opened in the week of 10 August 2020.

In the interim:

The Transitional Management Committee (TMC) will continue to perform the functions of the Executive Committee of the FSCA to facilitate the functioning of the FSCA in an efficient and effective manner until the person appointed as the Commissioner has commenced service;

In terms of Regulation 3(1)(d) of the amended Regulations, the Minister has designated Advocate Dube Tshidi to perform the functions of a Commissioner, effective 06 August 2020 to 05 November 2020 or as soon as a new Commissioner is appointed. The shortlisting panel is expected to complete its shortlisting process within 90 days from the date of publication of the gazette and if not, the role of a Commissioner will be rotated to other members of the TMC.