Private sector urged to speak up, offer solutions
JOHANNESBURG – To mitigate an unavoidable negative outlook by Moody’s Investors Service, economists said yesterday that South Africa needed to drive private sector-led economic growth while the government fixed state institutions.
Moody’s, the only international ratings agency that still has South Africa’s credit rating above junk, has pronounced a low likelihood of a credit rating downgrade, albeit with a negative outlook.
With the finance minister’s medium-term budget policy statement set to outline the country’s trajectory, economists maintain that a downgrade remains unlikely but the outlook might be revised down. Speaking at the inaugural JSE SA Trade Connect conference yesterday, Alexander Forbes chief economist Isaah Mhlanga said they expected a negative outlook from Moody’s due to weak economic fundamentals.
Source: iol.co.za
