Will SA pull a Zuma, and dodge a downgrade from Moody’s?
SA could escape a further slide to junk status in the same way Jacob Zuma defeated a parliamentary rebellion — comfortably but not without some sweating
SA could escape a further slide to junk status on Friday in the same way the nation’s leader, Jacob Zuma, defeated a parliamentary rebellion and clung onto power — comfortably but not without some sweating. Moody’s Investors Service is scheduled to release a ratings review two months after it cut the local- and foreign-currency assessments to one level above junk, citing risks to growth and fiscal strength due to the political outlook. That was after it put SA on review for a downgrade following a Cabinet reshuffle in which Zuma fired Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, prompting S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings to cut the nation to subinvestment grade. Policy uncertainty and political turmoil increased in the last two months as Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane instructed changes to the Reserve Bank’s mandate, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane published a new Mining Charter and Zuma’s defeat of the no-confidence motion in Parliament sent the rand weaker. SA also ente...
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