BL Premium reports that the Nuclear Energy Corporation of SA (Necsa) is once again scrambling to pay salaries, this time by soliciting a loan from its only profitable subsidiary.  

It has made a loss every year since 2014.  Its next tranche of funding from the Treasury of R500m will only become available on 1 April.  Salaries for the past three months were paid from funds ring-fenced for particular projects.  In reply to questions, Necsa said it was considering all options available in relation to meeting its short-term financial obligations, key amongst those being payment of salaries and benefits due at the end of March.  Options would include requesting a loan from NTP Radioisotopes, its 100% own subsidiary, with clearly stipulated repayment conditions by the first week of April.  "This is done within the governance prescripts and inter-company financial exchanges are a common feature within the Necsa group,’’ the corporation claimed.  However, the Companies Act restricts loans between inter-related companies and requires that the directors of the company making the loan satisfy themselves that the company will pass a solvency and liquidity test.  NTP did not answer questions on whether the directors had approved the loan and what steps had been followed.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

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