Business and Technology

Govt & unions working on plans for new SAA

South Africa’s Public Enterprises Department and labour unions are working together on a business model for a new national carrier that will replace the embattled South African Airways.

The new airline will be funded through a variety of options such as strategic equity partners, funders, and the sale of non-core assets, the Ministry of Public Enterprises said in a statement Wednesday.

The parties are still of the view that the state must continue to play a role.

The administrators running SAA had proposed firing the entire workforce to stave off liquidation after a request for state funding was rejected in April.

However, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan strongly objected to that plan and announced his ambitions for the creation of a new airline.

The administrators are now proposing the government provide a R21 billion ($1.2 billion) bailout to help repay debt and resume operations after the lifting of Covid-19 travel bans.

President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated the government’s intention to revive SAA on 31 May, saying he sees a bright future for the carrier.

“It is essential to build a leadership coalition which is robust and strong enough to find solutions, and establish the foundations of a new airline with a growth path,” the Ministry said on Wednesday.

In other news – Video: Sam Mshengu Chabalala’s trucks allegedly on auction

This is the first time Mshengu is setting tongues wagging since reports he went missing. Messages of sympathy have been pouring on social media following a video of trucks, said belong to Sam ‘Chabalala’ Mshengu, on auction.

Sam Mshengu Chabalala

While most speculated the trucks were on auction due to repossession, a social media user who claimed to have been an employee of the auctioneers said the trucks on auction were old. continue reading

Source: Business Tech