LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 12, 2001--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its triple-'B'-minus/'A-3' foreign currency issuer credit rating and its single-'A'-minus/'A-2' local currency issuer credit rating on the Republic of South Africa. The outlook is stable. The rating affirmation reflects the government's continued commitment to an orthodox economic policy framework and structural reforms, which have resulted in modest budget deficits and declining inflation. Privatization of state enterprises should accelerate in coming years, helping to keep the public debt burden on a downward trend. This is also creating room for a prudent pro-growth fiscal policy while real GDP should grow by 3.0%-4.0% per year this decade--significantly faster than the average of just 1.3% in the 1990s. Faster growth should also
