The decision by the cash-strapped City of Tshwane to hike workers’ salaries by 6.25% in 2020 is among the factors that led to Moody’s Investors Service downgrading the metro’s credit ratings again this week.

The ratings agency downgraded the metro’s long-term global scale issuer rating to B1 from Ba3 and maintained the negative outlook. It also downgraded the city’s long-term national scale issuer rating by five notches to Baa2.za from Aa3.za, which is three notches above the country’s sovereign rating of Ba2...