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Reality check: Pravin Gordhan has revealed plans to get state-owned entities into better order. Photo: Halden Krog/Bloomberg/Getty Images
BUSINESS RESCUE

Gordhan on SAA, political interference and moving SOEs out of his department

The minister addresses the future of the country’s state-owned entities and speculation they may be moved from his portfolio

  • Sarah Smit
6 min read
More recently, the government chose to relinquish its majority stakeholding in SAA, after it became the first parastatal to go into business rescue. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
DAWIE VAN DER MERWE

SAA funds may need a top-up

Industry experts predict the R10.5-billion from the treasury to rescue the airline may not be enough, but the rescue practitioners say the money is enough to ‘settle the sins of…

  • Tshegofatso Mathe
5 min read
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the SAA bailout would be financed by reducing the funds allocated to national departments and their entities as well as slashing provincial and local government conditional grants. (David Harrison/M&G)
ACSA

SAA to receive R10.5-billion government bailout after all

Several struggling state-owned entities received extra funds after the medium term budget policy speech

  • Thando Maeko
5 min read
The financially embattled SAA pulled a no-show on Tuesday, failing to attend a meeting with parliament’s standing committee of public accounts. (Delwyn Verasamy)
BLOCKED FUNDS

SAA in talks to recoup R350-million in blocked funds from Zimbabwe

The cash-strapped national carrier is in the process of recouping its blocked funds from Zimbabwe, which could go towards financing the airline’s business rescue plan

  • Thando Maeko
5 min read
Aside from mounting a financial rescue operation at Eskom, the government will give another R1 billion to SAA before the end of the current financial year towards paying off the airline’s historical debt. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
BUSINESS RESCUE

SAA creditors get R9.3bn from government

The state-owned airline owes R16.4-billion to lenders and needs an additional R10.1-billion to fund the business rescue plan

  • Thando Maeko
2 min read
In July, the treasury committed to find funding for the state airline’s business rescue plan. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
BUSINESS RESCUE

SAA needs R2.2bn to pay for voluntary severance packages

More than 3 000 employees out of 5 000 have accepted the packages. The state-owned airline, which went into business rescue, is likely to retain 1 000 workers

  • Thando Maeko
2 min read
Harith General Partners, one half of the consortium that will take over SAA, has come under scrutiny since the announcement of the national carrier’s new majority shareholder.
BUSINESS RESCUE

SAA creditors give go-ahead on rescue plan

Unions and staff representatives have agreed to severance packages for about 2 700 employees who will lose their jobs.

  • Thando Maeko
3 min read
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AIRLINES

SAA 2.0 hopes to start lean and grow from next year

Draft agreement document spells out that R1.5-billion will be needed to fund severance packages for 2 400 of the airline’s employees

  • Sabelo Skiti
4 min read
The department of public enterprises is concerned that the proposed sale of assets threatens its plans to engineer SAA 2.0 .
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES

Sell assets or create a new airline? Tussle over SAA future intensifies

The department of public enterprises is concerned that the proposed sale of assets threatens its plans to engineer SAA 2.0

  • Sabelo Skiti
6 min read
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. (Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)
AIR CHEFS

Gordhan steps into SAA crisis, announces a stop to retrenchments

The minister is also expected to announce talks with unions towards a new airline after the shut-down of the cash-strapped national carrier

  • Sabelo Skiti
3 min read
As SAA subsidiaries declare hardship to staff, business-rescue practitioners urge them to sign agreements to save severance payouts. (John McCann/M&G)
AIR CHEFS

SAA rescuers give affected parties two options: Wind down or liquidate

As SAA subsidiaries declare hardship to staff, business-rescue practitioners urge them to sign agreements to save severance payouts

  • Sabelo Skiti
7 min read
Harith General Partners, one half of the consortium that will take over SAA, has come under scrutiny since the announcement of the national carrier’s new majority shareholder.
AIRLINE INDUSTRY

SAA business-rescue practitioners offer severance settlement agreement for all staff

Practitioners inform staff that the government’s rejection of R10-billion bailout last week almost guarantees that the prospect of rescue is now impossible

  • Sabelo Skiti
4 min read
In July, the treasury committed to find funding for the state airline’s business rescue plan. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
BUSINESS RESCUE

SAA endgame arrives as Covid-19 hits airlines

With the disease hitting the airline industry hard, SAA has told employees it will run out of money by March 31. Workers must either lose their jobs or move to part-time jobs, it…

  • Thando Maeko
3 min read
Airline gets another chance as rescue practitioners and Gordhan agree to work on a rescue plan by the end of June (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AIRCHEFS

SAA’s choice: Restructure and cut 2 200 jobs or liquidate and lose 4 700

The business rescue practitioners say 29 of the fleet of 48 planes, various routes and inefficient services also need to go in the state-owned airline is to survive

  • Thando Maeko
4 min read
The department of public enterprises is concerned that the proposed sale of assets threatens its plans to engineer SAA 2.0 .
ANDREW REDDING

Unions vow to push ‘battle for survival’ at SAA

The Labour Court dismisses an application by Numsa and Sacca to have planned job cuts at SAA scrapped

  • Thando Maeko
2 min read
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AIR CHEFS

SAA cancels flights, moves ahead with restructuring

The struggling national carrier’s business rescue practitioners say the move to restructure the airline is a bid to return to profitability and to attract equity partners

  • Thando Maeko
3 min read
Public works director says he feared for his safety
ROUX SHABANGU

Public works director says he feared for his safety

Public works director general Siviwe Dongwana feared for his safety as he felt he was pressured into approving two police lease deals.

  • Staff Reporter
1 min read