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South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni again voiced his doubts about the need for a national airline, less than a month after agreeing to find the cash for a R10.5 billion ($ 685 million) bailout of the airline. affected.
In a series of late-night tweets, Mboweni asked his close to a million followers if the country requires state-owned South African Airways or if a private company should have the opportunity to step in and fill the void left by his disappearance.
“Where there is a market gap, a gap in a market, an airline will emerge to fill the gap! It will !? “said the minister.
OK. Do we need a national airline? Maybe that’s the question? It is?
– Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) November 22, 2020
Mboweni’s initial tactic, “Okay. What should we do in SAA? “It came as a surprise as its own mid-term budget statement in October seemed to have answered that question after months of uncertainty.
The R10.5 billion, to be raised from other budgets, including police and education, would be used to finalize a business rescue plan that required cash for severance packages, ticket refunds, creditors and other needs.
The National Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether this is now in jeopardy. The airline administrators said they could not immediately comment.
Mboweni has long opposed the use of state funds to bail out SAA, which has been in bankruptcy protection for nearly a year and has not flown since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in South Africa in March.
He has clashed with Pravin Gordhan, the minister of public companies, who has insisted that SAA can be restructured, reactivated and partially sold to a private bidder.
Mboweni is a prolific Twitter user, who has used both for provocative political statements and for photographs of his dinner.
Read: British Airways reopens domestic flights in South Africa
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