AFRICA’S GOVERNANCE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 | PRELIMINARY REPORT 2020
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE ENABLERS
A conducive global environment is critical to
countries in times of crises. In responding to the
COVID-19 pandemic, African countries must
navigate global factors, some of which are positive
presenting opportunities to exploit, and others
to access international capital markets for
sovereign bond issuance. Angola, Nigeria, Côte
d’Ivoire, Benin and negative posing challenges
to confront. These global enablers can enhance
or hamper the ability of countries to effectively
address the challenges of the pandemic. This
Report dwells on one global enabler, that of global
financial markets.
4.1 Global financial markets
South Africa had to abandon their plans to issue
Eurobonds as the yield costs doubled following
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, nine
member states have been downgraded – Angola,
the COVID-19 induced rating downgrades. Trends
indicate that this is magnifying the impact of
COVID-19 economic shocks. In times of crises like
the COVID-19 pandemic, financial markets have a
natural way of discounting risk when fundamentals
are conspicuously changing.
Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, South
Africa and Zambia, and six more have had their
sovereign rating outlook changed to negative.
Because of this, no African country has managed
TABLE 3: COVID-19 INDUCED SOVEREIGN DOWNGRADES
Country
Previous rating
Current rating
Date
Fitch (B) negative
S&P (B-) negative
Fitch (B-) stable
S&P (CCC+) stable
Mar 06 2020
Mar 26 2020
Botswana
S&P (A-) stable
S&P (BBB+) stable
Mar 27 2020
Cameroon
S&P (B) negative
Fitch (B) stable
S&P (B-) stable
Fitch (B) negative
Apr 10 2020
Apr 22 2020
Cape Verde
Fitch (B) positive
Fitch (B-) stable
Apr 17 2020
DR Congo
S&P (B) stable
S&P (B-) negative
Apr 08 2020
Gabon
Fitch (B) stable
Fitch (CCC) n/a
Apr 03 2020
Nigeria
S&P (B) negative
Fitch (B+) negative
S&P (B-) stable
Fitch (B) negative
Mar 26 2020
Apr 06 2020
South Africa
Moody’s (Baa3) negative
Fitch (BB+) negative
S&P (BB) negative
Moody’s (Ba1) negative
Fitch (BB) negative
S&P (BB-) stable
Mar 27 2020
Apr 03 2020
Apr 30 2020
Zambia
S&P (CCC+) stable
Moody’s (Caa2) negative
Fitch (CCC) negative
S&P (CCC) negative
Moody’s (Ca) stable
Fitch (CC) n/a
Feb 21 2020
Apr 03 2020
Apr 16 2020
Angola
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