Credit rating agency Fitch issued a statement on Monday night saying the new Mining Charter that Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane issued without industry consultation showed that its decision to cut SA’s sovereign credit rating to junk in April was correct. Zwane’s Mining Charter "indicates that the government is prioritising radical transformation even if this leads to weakening of the business climate and could reduce trend growth", Fitch said. In its global economic outlook also released on Monday, Fitch halved its forecast of SA’s real GDP for 2017 to 0.6% from 1.2%, and for 2018 to 1.6% from 2.1%. Fitch said when it downgraded SA’s sovereign rating to BB+ with stable outlook, the decision reflected "our view that political events, including the Cabinet reshuffle, would weaken standards of governance and public finances". The ratings agency said in Monday’s statement: "Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, appointed in March’s reshuffle, has indicated that further fiscal con...
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