Many hurdles before one African currency - Mboweni

Addressing the Cape Town Press Club, he also said it was time top South African executives' remuneration packages were "put on the table".

The AU was formed in Durban earlier this month to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

Among its aims is the formation of a Pan African Parliament and, ultimately, a single currency on the lines of the "Euro".

Mboweni joked that the mooted new common African currency could be called the "Afro".

Answering a question from Sapa, he said there was, however, a long way to go before a common economic integration could come about in Africa.

The continent had been divided into five regions, which all had to report to the AU.

Issues to be addressed included:

-- A commitment from African governments to sound fiscal policies;

-- Governments working together towards lowering inflation levels;

-- Political leadership should ensure that the public debt component of the Gross Domestic Product came down to below 50 percent of the total.

Mboweni said African governments should commit themselves to including central banks.

The formation of a single African Central Bank -- which was a desired AU objective -- could, however, take "maybe 20, 30, 40 years".

Asked on wage/salary increases being demanded by workers and trade unions, Mboweni said workers could not be condemned for demanding rises of, as an example, R2000 a month, when some managers in commerce and industry were taking home packages of R300000 a month.

"It's time we put chief executives' salaries on the table," Mboweni, a former head of the umbrella Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and former Labour Minister, said.

"There needs to be an industry-wide discussion about wage-gap issues," he added.

AU leaders had committed themselves to move towards unity on all levels, including economic and political, but there were major infra-structural challenges which had to be dealt with.

"So, we have a long way to go to a common economic integration in Africa."

Mboweni would not be drawn by Sapa on the possibility of any further interest rate hikes in South Africa this year above the two that have already taken place.

"For now, I'm not saying anything," he said.