The President of the Republic of South Africa announced on 4 July 1998 that, "in discharge of his legal responsibilities" he had appointed Mr Tito Mboweni to succeed Dr C.L. Stals as Governor of the South African Reserve Bank when Dr Stals's current term comes to an end on 7 August 1999.The President also stated that he had made his appointment of Mr Mboweni after consulting Dr Stals, the Board of the Directors of the Reserve Bank, the Minister of Finance, business and other leaders in South Africa, as well as the international banking community, including the International Monetary Fund.The President further stated that "Dr Stals will serve the entirety of his term as Governor of the Reserve Bank and will take charge of the process of preparing the Honourable Tito Mboweni to succeed as Governor".To facilitate the preparation process, Mr Mboweni "will work in the Reserve Bank as Special Assistant to Dr Stals". Since the second half of July 1998, Mr Mboweni has been part of the senior management team of the Reserve Bank. He has attended and taken part in the proceedings of the Board of Directors and of the Governors' Committee; he has engaged in policy and operational discussions with advisers, senior managers, heads of departments and staff at all levels; and has visited all the Reserve Bank branches, the South African Mint and South African Bank Note Companies. Internationally, Mr Mboweni has undertaken study tours to the International Monetary Fund; the World Bank; the Federal Reserve Board in Washington; and the Federal Reserve Banks in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. In addition he has visited the central banks of Mexico, Chile and Argentina. During these visits, he also held extensive discussions with private sector banks and treasury officials. In the coming months Mr Mboweni will visit central banks in Europe including London, Frankfurt, Zurich, Paris and the Bank of International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland. He is also planning to visit central banks in Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia.Dr Stals has designed a programme of preparation and transition for Mr Mboweni that includes the increasing assumption of responsibilities for the operational and internal management of the Bank. Specifically, Dr Stals has asked Mr Mboweni to take responsibility for the internal management of the Bank starting in April 1999. Dr Stals remains in overall charge of monetary policy until the end of his term in early August.To further involve Mr Mboweni in the budgetary planning process of the Bank, Dr Stals asked Mr Mboweni to chair the senior management strategic planning session that took place from 14 - 16 January 1999. The theme of the two-day strategic session was management stability with excellence and credibility in a changing environment. It was attended by deputy governors, advisers to the governors, general managers and heads of departments. The outcome of these deliberations will contribute to the preparation of the Bank's annual and medium-term personnel and operational budgets as well as address national economic and financial issues as South Africa enters the new millennium.The management and staff of the Reserve Bank are confident that these arrangements are in keeping with the wishes of the President when he appointed Mr Mboweni in good time to ensure an organised, gradual and smooth transition in the leadership of the Bank. ​