Fitch warns South Africa of "quick fixes" in run up to local elections

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African authorities should not resort to populist quick fixes such as setting a minimum wage in the run up to local elections in August, ratings agency Fitch said on Thursday. Fitch, which rates the debt of Africa's most industrialised country at BBB-, one notch above speculative grade, is expected to publish a review of the country's debt rating on June 3. "Authorities may feel, if they have a poor showing, that there is a need for fixes like the introduction of a high minimum wage that would appear to help the poor but may also discourage investment," said Fitch's head of EMEA sovereign ratings Jan Friederich. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia)