Moody’s ratings agency to review South Africa
Ratings agency Moody’s will be visiting South Africa next week to review the country’s long and short term ratings for a possible downgrade, the Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement said the Moody’s review, scheduled for March 16 to 18, would either affirm the current ratings or downgrade them. Moody’s currently rates South Africa two notches above sub-investment grade for foreign currency debt.
During the visit, the agency would assess views of various stakeholders in government, civil society, labour and in the private sector on areas including whether the decline in South Africa’s economic strength would be reversed in the medium term and if sufficient progress could be made to stabilise and restore fiscal strength.
READ: South Africa should prepare for downgrade
The Treasury said it would use its meetings with the agency to highlight factors including collaborative actions aimed at accelerating inclusive growth, measures adopted in the 2016 Budget to accelerate fiscal consolidation and advance the National Development Plan, as well as steps taken to reinforce stable industrial relations.
The government would also be pointing to the accelerated implementation of the country’s R870 billion infrastructure investment programme, progress made in resolving energy supply constraints, including the renewable energy programme and the extension of the same approach to coal and gas, and initiatives aimed at strengthening governance and financial oversight at state-owned enterprises.
The Treasury statement added: “As a resilient nation we are working together – civil society, labour, business and government – to demonstrate our commitment to translate our plans into concrete actions.” - ANA