On 27 September, the change of office ceremony for the Bundesbank representative in South Africa was held in Johannesburg under bright spring skies. Jens Fuhrmann, previously the Bundesbank’s representative in Peking, has now taken over from Dr Eugen Cleveland, who will head up the Representative Office in Tokyo. The event, with its cordial atmosphere, offered not just an opportunity to say goodbye but also to look ahead to a highly promising future.

© Selebogo Tsatsinyane

With central bank representatives from South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini in attendance, as well as representatives from the South African government, the business community and diplomats from various countries, Mr Fuhrmann was warmly welcomed. Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz honoured the achievements of Mr Cleveland, the previous representative, who had gone to great efforts to maintain relations with South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini. Mr Balz particularly stressed the close collaboration with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and the Bank of Namibia (BoN), all underpinned by memoranda of understanding.

© Selebogo Tsatsinyane

Mr Fuhrmann, who began his career at the Bundesbank in 1990 and was its representative in Peking from 2018 to 2023, brings a wealth of experience in international cooperation. He underscored the key role that his work and the Bundesbank’s collaboration with the region’s central banks would continue to play. During discussions, he announced that he would strengthen the connections with the Central Bank of Lesotho and the Central Bank of Eswatini built up by Mr Cleveland and would support initial bilateral measures such as the establishment of a Centre of Excellence and a training centre.

The speeches particularly emphasised the success of collaboration to date, such as the national banking system stress test in South Africa and the EU project to strengthen cooperation between European and African central banks. Another project unites the Bank of Namibia and the Bundesbank’s University of Applied Sciences in Hachenburg, where Namibian students will soon begin to pursue bachelor’s degrees.

The reception was followed by a luncheon with central bankers and financial industry functionaries that centred on the topic of “CBDC – The money of the future”. In South Africa and the entire region, in particular, the introduction of central bank digital currency (CBDC) is seen as an opportunity to facilitate cross-border payments, reduce costs and promote financial inclusion.