S&P denies rating Ghana "one of 10 countries least likely to pay debts"

The NDC UK & Ireland Secretariat would like to inform the general public that the alarmist headline publication on myjoyonline.com naming “Ghana one of 10 countries least likely to pay debts..." on Wednesday June 29, 2011 is a false publication attributed to S&P from the original source cited by myjoyonline.com, according to John Piecuch, S&P's director of communications for the Americas, who is based in New York.

In an interview with the Financial Gleaner newspaper published 24th June 2011, S&P's John Piecuch stated “that no such listing has been produced by the agency” as seen here at the newspaper's website: http://jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20110624/business/business1.html

"We don't rate countries in that manner," he told the Financial Gleaner, adding that S&P would not have provided a numerical ranking.

The NDC UK and Ireland Secretariat is very disturbed about the seemingly shoddy journalism cropping up in sections of the Ghanaian media, which places no premium on fact checking and research. Myjoyonline.com's false headline publication has the potential to negatively affect market sentiments regarding Ghana's economy on both the domestic and international financial markets. All too often, some Ghanaian journalists and media houses find it too easy to publish negative news about Ghana without cross-checking, sometimes with ulterior motives that cause embarrassment to the country and its Government. In this case, the publication has the potential to unsettle financial markets. In the interest of our dear country Ghana, media houses and their journalists must begin to change their attitudes by departing from the publication of false, misleading and sometimes divisive negative news.

The next time Myjoyonline.com decides to publish any news attributed to S&P about Ghana, it must do our nation better service by contacting one of S&P's Directors of Communication to cross check the information before publishing such information. John Piecuch, the S&P Director of Communication who denied S&P published such a “most likely to default list may be reached via the contact details below:

John Piecuch
Director, Communications
Standard & Poor's
55 Water Street
New York, NY 10041 [email protected]

Signed:
Prince-Kassim Alubankudi

Secretary, NDC UK & Ireland Chapter