Account for missing SAA billions before pumping in more

SAA, our once esteemed national flag career that was “Bringing the world to Africa and taking Africa to the world” continues to be in turbulence. Billions of rand have been wasted over the years in an effort to turn the fortunes of the airline around. In December we heaved a sigh of relief when two business rescue practitioners (BRPs) were appointed to resuscitate the embattled airliner. Sadly, for the better part of this year, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan and the BRPs seemed to be singing from different hymn books on the way forward.

Earlier this week, we woke up to news that a draft business rescue plan for SAA, circulated to affected parties at the weekend, says it will take a whopping R21bn to settle all the obligations of the old SAA and capitalise a new state-owned airline. In the past 17 years, SAA has received R31.2bn in bailouts from taxpayers. There is nothing to show for these huge cash injections. This begs a burning question, Mr Gordhan: Why should we believe the latest proposed bailout will be any different? What is there to stop it following the same route into the same black hole?

SAA has been an albatross around the taxpayers’ neck for far too long. While billions are pumped into the habitual loss maker, there seems no tangible consequence management for those who have failed to captain the airline out of its quagmire. When Prasa bought oversized locomotives worth R600m, an investigation was launched resulting in CEO Lucky Montana and former head of engineering services Daniel Mthimkhulu being fired. At Transnet, another failing SOE, irregularities were flagged when a tender for locomotives dramatically increased from an approved R38bn to R56bn without government knowledge. An investigation was launched and action against top management was recommended.

Why don’t we see similar action taken against those at SAA management? Does it mean only former chair Dudu Myeni, who was declared a delinquent director by the courts last week, is to blame for running the national airline into the ground? Something is not adding up here.

We implore Gordhan to be firm and act against corruption before we throw more billions at SAA, even in its envisaged new form.

Let’s get proper accounting of the previous cash injections. Maybe it is time a special commission led by a judge is appointed to probe the goings-on at SAA.

We implore Gordhan to be firm and act against corruption before we throw more billions at SAA, even in its envisaged new form