Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe
Photo by: Duane Daws
Government was optimistic about South Africa’s prospects ahead of a review by ratings agency Standard & Poor (S&P) being published next week, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said on Thursday.
Briefing journalists on cabinet’s fortnightly meeting, Radebe said government was confident it had done all it could to convince ratings agencies to not downgrade the country to junk status.
“As you know, since the beginning of the year the president tasked the minister of finance and Jabu Mabuza [president of Business Unity SA] to lead a team that will ensure that Team SA will sing from the same hymnbook of ensuring that we don’t get a downgrade,” Radebe said.
“We have seen in the past two weeks with Moody’s – even though they gave us a negative outlook but they did not bring us down. As we all know S&P and Fitch are in the country. They have already met with several cabinet colleagues and I’m sure all of us need to be very optimisitc about the future of South Africa.”
Radebe cited several projects, including auto manufacturers investing more in South Africa, as proof that despite the gloomy global economic picture, there was still an appetite for investment in the country.
“There are sectors where we are very positive as government, positive as a country, so I think there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
S&P publishes its review of SA’s credit rating on June 3, while Fitch has not set a date for announcing its decision on the country’s credit rating.