JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling ANC and its allies agreed to look at broadening the mandate of the central bank from merely tackling inflation, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe said on Sunday.

Mantashe told reporters the alliance, which includes the South African Communist Party and the labour federation COSATU, had formed a team to study the effects of a strong rand, following warnings about the repercussions of its strength on the economy.

The ANC and its allies met for three days to iron out their differences, with the government under pressure to shift economic policy to the left.

COSATU and the SACP want higher spending and for the inflation targets that guide monetary policy to be scrapped.

Mantashe said the partners had agreed at a "robust" meeting to look at the central bank's mandate.

"The summit agreed that the alliance task team on macroeconomic policy must remain seized with reviewing and broadening the mandate of the Reserve Bank," he said at a briefing after the meeting, adding that monetary policy should be in line with the aims of fiscal policy.

The Reserve Bank has the task of fighting inflation, keeping it between 3 and 6 percent. In September, inflation was 6.1 percent year-on-year, compared with almost 14 percent a year ago.

Critics say this had led to interest rates that are too high, which COSATU blames for exacerbating poverty. They want the target scrapped and interest rates cut to help pull the economy out of its first recession in nearly two decades.