\u201cI was like \u2018oh, I also want to be an \u2018ist,\u2019\u201d she recalls, with a burst of laughter. This led to her pursuing her studies in economics, instead of nursing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She had to further her studies so she could get a job elsewhere, no matter what happened, so she wouldn\u2019t \u201cgo back and become my mother\u2019s problem.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The work paid off and she became an economist in the bank\u2019s Economic Research Department, a position she held until 2009 when she moved to National Treasury in the same year and served as a senior economist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She steadily climbed the ladder at Treasury, becoming Director of Fiscal Policy, Chief Director of Strategy and Risk Management. In 2017, she was appointed as Deputy Director-General for Public Finance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having been appointed as Deputy Governor with effect from 1 April 2024, she described the past year as having \u201cbeen full of excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is new work that I\u2019m doing at the Reserve Bank. At the Treasury, you do policy\u2026 at the SARB, the work is very technical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe full year has been a year of learning, understanding what the bank does, understanding the impact that the bank has in ordinary people\u2019s lives and making sure that we communicate what the bank does.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Deputy Governor, Modise is also a member of the bank\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) responsible for deciding on South Africa\u2019s appropriate monetary policy stance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bank\u2019s primary objective is to protect the currency’s value in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth. Interaction with the public is a priority for Modise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t know what the Reserve Bank does, and they don\u2019t know how to approach the Reserve Bank.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They don\u2019t know how to engage with the Reserve Bank. So, how do we take ourselves as the Reserve Bank to the people is a big priority. The second priority for me is to have employees of the SARB hear their people\u2019s voices.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before becoming the Deputy Governor, Modise had applied for the Director-General position at the Treasury but did not get it, after which she recalls how her friends sent her an article mentioning individuals in the running for the Deputy Governor position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The article mentioned her name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt that time, I didn\u2019t want to want this job because I was still grieving the other one, and I didn\u2019t want to be sad twice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Little did she know that while getting on with the business of work, she would receive a letter of appointment in March 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I get this email from the Ministry of Finance, and the letter said it was from the Minister of Finance, and that the President has decided they want to appoint you as Deputy Governor.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is an offer letter, and you must tell us if you want the job or not,\u201d she said as she laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a rumour for so long. I didn\u2019t even believe it at the end. I didn\u2019t know whether to scream or not,\u201d she said, recalling how she asked a colleague to continue with the meeting with rating agency Moody\u2019s while she excused herself and went to the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once in the bathroom, she gave a quiet scream and tried to regain her composure. She could barely focus when she returned to the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fact that the President thought of this lady from the dusty streets of kwaNdebele in Mpumalanga to do this particular role, where I was just minding my business and doing my job at the Treasury, I could never describe the feeling,\u201d she gleamed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she relayed the news to her mother in a phone call, her response was: \u201cMampho! Why are you taking a temporary job? Don\u2019t you see that unemployment is a problem?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c She asked if it was a promotion, and I said well it depends on how you look at it. She was not impressed,\u201d she said, as we both laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, once the official announcement was made, the Deputy Governor\u2019s mom changed her tune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was when she recognised the magnitude of the role.\u201d The return to the central bank gave Modise mixed emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was nervous; I was so scared; I was excited \u2026and I felt that maybe I\u2019m not good enough. That element of doubt was what I had to deal with in my first two to three months of being here. When I got to the SARB in Irene and I stopped at the door before I could get in, I was shaking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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