Do the rich come first? – Gigaba

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba yesterday told members of parliament no approval policy had been established regarding the privatisation of sections of national ports of entry.

“If the minister had granted permission, the minister would have followed legal prescripts until the end. In the absence of such legal prescripts, we stand with our belief that there was no approval of this decision formally granted and the matter is really irrelevant.

“But the issue we are raising is the matter of principle which applies to whether the poor are entitled to good quality service, only after the rich have received them, to whether the laws of the country can be disregarded when the rich are concerned and whether the government should provide free services to the rich.”

Gigaba was briefing the portfolio committee on home affairs on the proposed privatisation of a section of the OR Tambo International Airport to Fireblade Aviation, as well as the possibility of privatising sections of Cape Town International Airport and the airport in George.

“When we say there is no policy, it’s not the political argument, it’s a legal argument. Until there is a policy that guides, you can’t just decide because I have money, I will take these.”

Gigaba said Cabinet was still dealing with the matter of rationalising the number of international airports that the country has. – ANA