DA calls for SAA to be put under business rescue
The airline needs additional state bailouts of R12bn by 2021 — this is in addition to the R10bn it got in October in 2017
The DA has renewed its call for South African Airways (SAA) to be placed under business rescue following revelations by Deputy Finance Minister Mondli Gungubele that the airline will need additional state bailouts amounting to R5bn this year, R5bn next year and R2bn in 2020-21. According to DA deputy finance spokesperson Alf Lees, the minister made the statement at a meeting of Parliament’s appropriation committee on Wednesday. The prospective cash injections by the state would be in addition to the R10bn given to SAA in October in 2017. SAA CEO Vuyani Jarana told Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts on Tuesday that SAA was in talks with Treasury about a R5bn cash injection, saying the airline did not generate sufficient revenue to pay back the capital amounts of its debt, only managing to repay the interest amounts. He said the airline was overburdened by debt and needed to repay a R9.2bn bond, maturing by April next year. According to Lees, Gungubele told the appropr...
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