Fin24 reports that in a statement issued on Wednesday, the Department of Public Enterprises said the recent strike at South African Airways (SAA) and the cancellation of bookings that followed resulted in a sudden deterioration of SAA’s financial position.
"Accordingly, the Department of Public Enterprises is working together with SAA to urgently formulate immediate actions that will be required to provide support to enable SAA to carry on its business. However, SAA cannot continue as is," the statement indicated. It added that government efforts, under Minister Pravin Gordhan, were focused on ensuring that the airline was stabilised, governance and leadership issues were addressed and the airline returned to a stronger financial footing in the medium to longer term. "None of this can be achieved without the necessary contributions by all the key role players in the airline. The actions being undertaken by the Minister include involving relevant stakeholders so that they can participate in the support initiative," the statement advised. SAA skipped a scheduled meeting with Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday evening, intended to brief the committee about when and how the national carrier planned to table its annual report and financial statements. SAA apparently got permission from Scopa chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa to defer its appearance.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24
- Read too, Government says it’s working to ensure SAA's survival, at Engineering News
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