Business News of Monday, 24 September 2012

Source: radioxyzonline

Government hails Fitch B+ ratings on economy

Government has hailed Fitch’s latest ‘B+’ rating on Ghana saying it demonstrates good governance and the country’s capacity to repay external and domestic debt liabilities.

This, it says, gives confidence to investors accessing sovereign debt opportunities in Ghana. Fitch Ratings affirmed Ghana's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings at 'B+' with a Stable Outlook.

In a statement from the Finance Ministry, government said it has committed itself to significant infrastructural investments in roads and transport, agriculture, energy, and others.

The international rating agency however expressed concerns about the weak macroeconomic management as well as the poor fiscal track record.

But government says it has initiated a number of measures to deal with the fiscal risk occasioned by the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy.

Some of the measures include the payroll biometric registration exercise which is aimed at cleaning and updating the database of all public service personnel.

Meanwhile, economist, Joe Abbey, says Ghana’s latest ratings by Fitch provide room for the country to boost investor confidence further ahead of the December elections.

Dr. Abbey who also doubles as the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Analysis has told XYZ BUSINESS the country has demonstrated enough commitment towards economic management but urged the government not to be complacent.