Ghana’s Finance Ministry has issued a lengthy statement to justify its rejection of the country’s latest rating by the international ratings agency, Moody’s.
Moody’s downgraded Ghana’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa1 from B3, and changed the outlook to stable from negative.
READ ALSO: 'On the matter of Ghana's downgrade by Fitch and Moody's' by Sammy Gymafi
But in the press release issued in Accra on Sunday, February 6, 2022, the government said the latest credit rating for Ghana’s was puzzling, citing progress with recent fiscal consolidation measures.
“We are at odds to understand Moody’s assertion of the deterioration of Ghana’s institutional strength, given Ghana’s reputation as a beacon of democracy in Africa.
“The government of Ghana is therefore completely puzzled by the decision to downgrade Ghana’s credit rating to Caa1, despite the series of progressive engagements we had with the team from Moody’s, the quality of data supplied, as well as the medium-term economic and fiscal focus of the government, underpinned by key fiscal consolidation reforms such as the policy decision to cut expenditure by 20%, as recently announced by the Minister of Finance,” the government said in the statement.
READ ALSO: Akufo-Addo rallies African states to fight ‘consequential stranglehold’ of rating agencies
Moody’s on February 4, 2022, said Ghana’s current credit rating score reflects the increasing difficulty the government was facing to address its intertwined liquidity and debt challenges.
“Weak revenue generation constrains government’s budget flexibility, and tight funding conditions on international markets have forced the government to rely on costly debt with shorter maturity,” Moody’s had said.
Below is the full response by Ghana Government to the latest rating by Moody’s
