The coup in Burkina Faso orchestrated by a junta dubbed the “Patriotic Movement for Safeguarding and Restoration” (MPSR) has caused the country’s ‘B/B’ rating to be downgraded sharply to the highly speculative category of ‘CCC+\C’ from Standard and Poor’s. The measure is accompanied by a surveillance.
In the hands of the military since January 24, the West African country has seen its constitution and parliament suspended. The watch reflects S&P’s fear that Burkina Faso’s rating will deteriorate further in the coming months. The risks that Ouagadougou will default on the next installments of the repayment of its commercial debt are high.
The financial community also fears that the junta will get its hands on the scarce resources available from the country’s financial authorities. The next publication of our Burkina Faso is set for May 13, 2022. The rating could be further downgraded if the stubbornness of the junta leads to sanctions from UEMOA, ECOWAS and the international community, causing the closure the country’s access to concessional and commercial debt. Re-elected in November 2020 for a second 5-year term, President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré is in the hands of the mutineers. Burkina Faso is taking a step back from the democratic process initiated since 2015, notes S&P.
