DA: place SAA under rescue

DEVIATION REQUEST: PARTY TO WRITE TO NENE

Instead of wasting another R4.7bn, funds must be used to balance 2018 budget, says party.

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene must take the bold step to place SA Airways (SAA) under business rescue with a clear undertaking that the airline will be privatised within the 2018-19 financial year, the Democratic Alliance said yesterday.

The DA would write to Nene to urgently obtain a report on the procurement deviation requested by SAA CEO Vuyani Jarana to source additional loans of R15 billion that, according to a newspaper report yesterday, was the basis for a deviation request, DA spokesperson Alf Lees said.

“Incredibly, the motivation for these funds apparently included hiring consultants to provide ‘cultural change services’.

“Surely, after four months in the job, Jarana has made it clear that the new culture is one of honesty, integrity, efficiency, and hard work is the order of the day,” he said.

The R10 billion taxpayer bailout of SAA was never going to be enough to keep the mismanaged, corruption-ridden, overstaffed, and inefficient state-owned airline in the air. Even the so-called turnaround plan under the new board and CEO showed losses continuing until 2020.

SAA had used up most of the R19.1 billion in government guarantees and there could be no further guarantees issued to a bankrupt and loss-making SAA.

“The DA will ensure that this is interrogated further when we put tough questions to SAA representatives who will be appearing before parliament’s standing committee on finance on March 20, 2018,” said Lees.

“Instead of wasting another R4.7 billion on a further bailout that is apparently planned in 2018-19, these funds must be used to balance the 2018 budget instead of increasing VAT by one percentage point, an increase that will make it even more difficult for the poor and unemployed 9.2 million South Africans,” Lees said. – ANA