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By ANA Reporter 
7h ago
Parliament – Public Business Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday there was credible private sector interest in South African Airways, while his finance counterpart insisted that financing the national airline’s commercial bailout was a difficult decision.
“At this time I cannot give any further details,” Gordhan told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Parliament’s watchdog, receiving a promised update on the SAA’s future plans.
Gordhan said he couldn’t reveal more, so as not to jeopardize the deals, which are meant to resurrect the suspended airline in late September as it ran out of funds even for skeletal operations.
“You will find out about this process in the next few weeks,” he said.
Sources close to Gordhan said the outlook from a private partner, rumored for a few weeks, was “very strong.”
The minister said the appointment of an interim board for SAA and a competent management team was imminent.
His comments came just hours after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni told the National Assembly that granting SAA an allocation of R10.5 billion ($ 662 million) for the implementation of the business rescue plan had been a very difficult decision.
Mboweni is seen as having been cornered by a Cabinet majority reluctant to shut down the loss-making airline.
Gordhan, however, insisted that the airline presented an economic opportunity that would see valuable skills development over time.
He added: “An interim board of directors will be announced and a central management team will be announced to execute the type of restructuring.”
The restructuring of the cash, said the minister, was key to the future of the project.
He insisted that the business rescue was a much better option than the liquidation, which attracted unless Mboweni used the funds last week.
– African News Agency (ANA); Edited by Yaron Blecher
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