Parliament – President Jacob Zuma on Thursday said preventing another downgrade to South Africa’s credit rating was among government’s top priorities as he responded to the fractious debate on his State of the Nation Address.

“High up on our agenda is to prevent a sovereign downgrade,” Zuma told a joint sitting of the National Assembly.

He cautioned that a downgrade “would have an adverse effect for all South Africans”.

The president said while government could not alter the global factors that were hampering economic growth, it would work to address circumstances at home that were contributing to this.

“Since we cannot change the global economic outlook, we will focus on correcting domestic circumstances that have effected confidence in the local economy,” he said.

Courtesy: African News Agency