By Dineo Faku
JOHANNESBURG - THE DEPARTMENT of Public Enterprises (DPE) on Friday said it was working with stakeholders to find solutions for national carrier SAA as agitated employees who have not been paid in eight months demanded salaries.
The department said that it was sympathetic to the worker’s plight and called on them to be patient adding the government believed the key to solving the difficulties facing the beleaguered national carrier was the finalisation of the business
“That is why the department is working with Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) to find the best restructuring solutions for the airlines, including payment of salaries. Any updates of the finalisation of the BRP process will be communicated as and when details are available,”said the DPE.
On Thursday, reports emerged that the DPE was talking with Canadian investor Fairfax Africa about a stake in the airline.
However, the DPE spokesperson Richard Mantu said the department was talking to several possible investors.
“The process of identifying a strategic equity investor is currently underway with multiple parties who have expressed an interest in SAA. We will release further detail once the process has sufficiently progressed,” said Mantu.
The government allocated R10.5 billion towards the implementation of SAA’s business resume plan which will pave the way for a new entity with less staff and a new management team.
On Thursday, the airline’s BRPs said that they had received R1.5 bn from the DPE on Monday afternoon, but the funds could not yet be used.
“The conditions that were stipulated for how it should be spent are in contravention of both the Labour Relations Act and the Chapter 6 of Companies Act. So, we are unable to utilise the funds until the conditions have been amended by the DPE,”said the BRPs in a statement.
Members of the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) and the South Africa Cabin Crew Association (Saccca) picketed outside SAA’s Kempton Park head office on Thursday to demand payment of outstanding salaries.
Numsa and Sacca also opened a criminal case against the carrier’s board and executives due to their failure to execute their fiduciary duties and allowing corruption to mushroom through white collar crimes at the group.
The DPE said that in the past it had worked with SAA management to restore good corporate governance and combat corruption at the national carrier.
It said as one of the key focus areas, SAA had looked into major contracts relating to logistics, Information Technology, transaction advisory services, ground handling and security.
“The DPE is aware that the airline took disciplinary steps against the implicated employees. This resulted in termination of employment for some senior and executive managers involved in misconduct,” said the DPE adding that thirteen other employees were found guilty of misconduct and were served with final written warnings while nine were dismissed and another four resigned.
BUSINESS REPORT