“Government is aware that the country's economic growth performance needs to be improved in a sustainable manner and has therefore made the resolution of the energy challenge an immediate priority,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Fitch downgraded South Africa's sovereign credit rating by one notch to BBB-, the lowest investment grade category, on Friday, citing the slowing economy and rising debt. It assigned a stable outlook to the rating.
The move came after Standard & Poor's kept its own rating at BBB- but lowered the outlook to negative from stable, saying this reflected the view that economic growth might be lower than expected.
