EFF slams Moody's downgrade of Ekurhuleni to 'junk'
The EFF in Ekurhuleni says Moody's decision to downgrade the City of Ekurhuleni to junk status “could potentially distort the city’s financial standing”.
The credit ratings agency also placed the metro on review for further downgrades on Wednesday.
Ekurhuleni finance MMC Nkululeko Dunga, who is a member of the EFF, has been accused of missing the deadline to submit the city’s 2022/23 annual financial statements.
This puts him in breach of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
Responding to this allegation, the EFF said the metro has consistently communicated with the Office of the Auditor-General.
It said the audit process has now concluded, with the final report to be submitted to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange after it has been presented to the city council.
EFF spokesperson Dumisani Baleni warned Moody's credit rating could leave the city in a precarious position.
"The Economic Freedom Fighters in Gauteng firmly rejects the unsolicited credit rating
assessment of the City of Ekurhuleni by Moody's Investors Service.
“The city has an established credit rating agreement with Global Credit Ratings, which is the authorised agency for this purpose, contrary to the unsanctioned action taken by Moody’s.
"The recent ‘downgrade’ by Moody's not only lacked solicitation but also inaccurately
suggested that the City of Ekurhuleni failed to submit its financial statements in time.”
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