Fitch Credit Ratings Agency. |
Fitch has downgraded its creditworthiness
assessment of Ghana from B- to CCC. This comes after Standard and Poor’s (S&
P) downgrade of Ghana's creditworthiness from B-B to CCC+/C.
The government, meanwhile, has expressed its
disappointment at Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade Ghana
notwithstanding the bold measures put in place in 2022 to resolve the
macro fiscal challenges and debt sustainability, both of which have been
substantially aggravated by the effect of these global extrinsic shocks, namely
Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The international and local currency credit
ratings for Ghana were lowered by Standard & Poor's Global Ratings on
August 5 from B-/B to CCC+/C with a negative outlook.
In response, the Finance Ministry released a
statement in which the government pledged to continue taking measures to mitigate
the negative effects of internal and international economic pressures on
Ghanaian citizens.
The administration has supposedly undertaken major
income and expenditure initiatives, such as the 30% decrease in discretionary
spending.
"The delays in the passage of key revenue
measures introduced in the 2022 budget affected revenues performance in the
first half of the year." the statement explained.
However, it claimed that, all revenue
measures included in the 2022 budget, have now been promulgated by parliament.
This includes the revision of the MDA fees and charges bill, the tax exemption
bill, and the e-levy bill.
These fiscal measures, the statement noted are now
in full implementation mode “to support our fiscal and debt sustainability”.
The government has stated its dedication and
confidence in overcoming these difficulties as quickly as possible.
Source: ghananews.hrforum.uk
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