Government acknowledges Standard and Poor’s rating of Ghana

By Iddi
Yire, GNA
  

Accra, Sept. 17, GNA – The Government has
acknowledged global rating agency, Standard and Poor (S&P’s) Ghana’s
sovereign credit rating from B- to B and assigned a stable outlook.

Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minister of
Information Designate, said the Government welcomed the rating and considered
it as a feedback and affirmation of their submission that the economy of Ghana
and its fundamentals were gradually getting better.

He said sovereign credit ratings were key
evaluation principles for a country’s economic and political environment;
adding that it gave investors an insight into the level of risk or potentials
associated with many countries.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah stated this on Monday at the
press launch of the National Policy Dialogue in Accra.

The National Policy Dialogue would be held
from September 24 to 25 on the theme; Assessing Government’s Flagship
Programmes – The Journey so far” at the University for Development Studies,
Tamale.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said there were a number of
agencies doing these ratings; citing S&P, Fitch and Moody.

He said S&P had been rating Ghana since
2003, and at that time Ghana achieved a B+ with a stable outlook.

“And we maintained this rating until December
2008 when the stable outlook was revised downward to a negative position.  We were finally downgraded to B with a stable
outlook in September 2010; from there the fortunes of the country took a
downwards spiral in terms of outlook until a further downgrade to B- stable in
October, 2014,” he said.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the latest rating by
S&P therefore, represented the first time in a decade that Ghana had been
upgraded to B.

“We are of the view that Government will
continue the exercise of strong monetary policy environment and the exercise to
continuously improve on the financial sector of our country,” he stated.

“Government will also continue efforts to
further improve the fiscal position by improving our revenues, disciplining
ourselves on expenditure and ensuring that our deposit does not get of hand.”

GNA

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