Johannesburg - Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan on Thursday requested Parliament to grant South African Airways (SAA) another extension, this time until 15 September, to table its annual financial statement, National Treasury said.
Gordhan had been due to table SAA’s annual report with the audited financial statements in Parliament at the end of this month.
In February, the finance minister had requested Parliament to give SAA until March to table its annual financial statements. They had originally been due by September 30 last year.
The embattled national carrier submitted an updated application for a going concern guarantee on 21 December 2015.
“SAA’s Annual Financial Statement cannot be finalised on a going concern basis until a decision has been taken on the guarantee application. Given the potential implications for the sovereign and for the economy the matter has required extensive and careful consideration,” Treasury said in a statement.
On Tuesday, SAA suspended its treasurer Cynthia Stimpel for “misconduct” as the board continued to remove defiant staff members.
Business Day reported that Stimpel had objected to SAA appointing unknown “boutique financier” BnP Capital to advise it on the restructuring of its R15 billion debt and to raise the funding, in return for a R256 million success fee.
Stimpel’s fate is one of many suspensions, resignations and internal investigations of executives and board members at the airline over the past year.
Treasury simply said the annual financial statements would be tabled once they have been finalised.
It is widely reported that Gordhan is locked in a standoff with President Jacob Zuma over the SAA board. Gordhan wants to appoint a new board and it is expected that he will sideline chairwoman Dudu Myeni, who is seen as close to the president.
African News Agency