BusinessLive reports that newly appointed Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has promised the United Association of SA (Uasa) that he will attend to the crisis at state-owned arms manufacturer Denel.
During a meeting with the union on Tuesday, the minister also said he was concerned that a number of state-owned enterprises, including Denel, could soon run out of cash. Denel confirmed in December 2017 that it was experiencing a severe liquidity crunch, which had resulted in the delayed payment of workers’ salaries. The government had to issue the company with an emergency loan guarantee of R580m to ensure that it paid suppliers and its 4,000 staff. Uasa and Solidarity, which also has members at Denel, have blamed management and the Denel board for the financial crisis, saying they had been complicit in corrupt dealings that enriched the Gupta family. Gordhan is also said to Uasa that it will take a major intervention to get the state-owned enterprises to function optimally again.
- Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive
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