Economics
South Africa Says Budget Credible Enough to Avoid Downgrade
- Finance minister pledges to narrow fiscal deficit next year
- Markets disappointed that budget didn't take bolder steps
South Africa Finance Minister on Credit Outlook
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South Africa delivered a credible budget to avoid a credit-rating downgrade to junk and financial markets probably overreacted by expecting more austere measures, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said.
“We need to demonstrate it to ourselves as South Africans that we can put a package together, both in terms of our plans and financing those plans, that are credible, that are sustainable and that are viable,” Gordhan said in an interview in Cape Town on Wednesday. “I think we’ve managed to do that.”