Fitch Affirms Sovereign Rating at BB-; Outlook Stable

Fitch affirms South Africa at 'BB-'; Outlook Stable.

They flag the ratings sensitivities as:
Negatives:

• Further significant increase in government debt-to-GDP, for example, due to persistent large fiscal deficits or the materialisation of large-scale contingent liabilities
• A further weakening of trend growth or a sustained shock that further undermines fiscal consolidation efforts and raises socio-economic pressure in the face of exceptional inequality

Positives:

• Confidence that government debt-to-GDP will stabilise; for example, due to persistent higher tax collections combined with successful sustained expenditure control that could lead to the removal of the -1 qualitative overlay notch on public finance
• Greater confidence in stronger medium-term growth prospects, sufficient to support fiscal consolidation and address challenges from high inequality and unemployment