SAA Business Recuse Practitioners must provide full public disclosure on decision to proceed with the business rescue process 

28 July 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to the South African Airways (SAA) Business Rescue Practitioners, Siviwe Dongwana and Les Matuson, to request that they provide a full public disclosure of all records of decisions that informed their latest notice to creditors informing them that all conditions of the business rescue process have been met and the plan has come into operation.

The latest notice by the BRPs raises a lot of questions on the circumstances informing their decision to proceed with the Business Rescue process. Particularly, has government availed the requisite funds to bankroll the bailout for SAA? If so, it will be grossly negligent for the BRPs to leave out this important detail of the rescue process. If not for how long will the business rescue plan remain valid whilst it awaits the pleasure of Pravin Gordhan, the Minister of Public Enterprises, to provide the R10,4 billion in funding upon which the whole business rescue plan depends.

We have made it clear before that, as the DA, we will oppose taxpayer money being used for bailing out SAA. The South African taxpayer has shouldered this vanity project for far too long with detrimental effect to the fiscus. SAA must be liquidated as soon as possible.

Issued by Alf Lees, DA Member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, 28 July 2020