Ratings jitters subside for now
SA gets a reprieve from agencies but concern remains over policy unpredictability from ANC
South Africans breathed a sigh of relief on Friday night when the country survived another round of credit rating reviews with no further sovereign ratings downgrades. Though there was only an outside chance that Fitch and S&P Global Ratings would cut the country's ratings again, having junked South Africa in April on President Jacob Zuma's midnight cabinet reshuffle, the ratings remain a constant source of anxiety to South Africans and financial markets. The only disappointment is that S&P retained its negative outlook on both South Africa's local and foreign currency ratings, suggesting that it fears the country has further to slide. But it could have been far worse. The agencies' decisions to affirm South Africa's ratings give the Treasury at least another six months to get its house in order and to match its promises of fiscal prudence and confidence-boosting reform with action.The ratings from S&P are split. South Africa's local-currency debt is ranked BBB-, on the bottom rung ...
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