Only government can offer SAA the bailouts it needs, Cyril Ramaphosa says
Treasury has agreed to grant SAA a special appropriation of R10bn by the end of September, and is also considering a R3bn government guarantee request by the SABC
South African Airways (SAA) is facing headwinds and needs the bailouts that only the government can provide, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday. The national airline is among SA’s key state-owned entities (SOEs) — including the SABC and Eskom — that are in turmoil, with some of them requiring urgent government bailouts. Ratings agencies have flagged the failing state-owned entities as posing a serious risk to the country’s fiscal outlook. The Treasury has agreed to grant SAA, which is facing a severe cash crunch, a special appropriation of R10bn by the end of September. The Treasury is also considering a R3bn government guarantee request by the beleaguered SABC. Answering questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Ramaphosa said that while the public had lost confidence in most SOEs, the government had no option but to offer these entities as much support as possible. "They [SOEs] are just too big to fail and too important for our developmental agenda … t...
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