Expropriation is new ratings hurdle

The light at the end of the dark tunnel of the Jacob Zuma years brightened a little over the weekend following the announcement that ratings agency Moody’s Investor Services has kept South Africa’s credit rating at investment grade, meaning the country has avoided a further downgrade to junk status which would have knocked South Africa out of international indices.

The next test will be over the coming weeks, when other ratings agencies, Standard and Poor’s and Fitch, deliver their assessments of the country.

They have always been slightly more pessimistic than Moody’s, so it remains to be seen what they say.

However, there is no doubt that the outside world is starting to look at South Africa in a different light following the appointment of Cyril Ramaphosa as president.

Ramaphosa has pledged clean government and, so far at least, appears to be following through on his promises.

A number of ANC luminaries connected to Zuma and the state capture projected have already been red-carded by Ramaphosa and the clock seems to be ticking for others.

However, critical to how the world views us is how the ANC government handles the question of land acquisition without compensation.

Investors want to know their money won’t be expropriated.

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