Minister of finance Tito Mboweni has been served legal notice over ‘bailout billions’ for South Africa Airways(SAA).
He is said to be considering using ’emergency funding’ to breathe life into the ailing SOE, which is set to shed about 2,500 jobs.
The minister had previously stated that there would be no more money for SAA, and instead claimed a ‘new airline’ would be formed to replace the much-maligned national carrier.
Geordin Hill-Lewis, the Shadow Minister of Finance, confirmed that the party has served a legal notice to Mboweni, advising him against raiding the state’s emergency funds to essentially raise SAA from the dead.
The DA representative says that Tito ‘would have to reconsider his position’ if he yields to the airline’s demands.
“We have served Finance Minister Tito Mboweni with legal notice of our intention to challenge any disbursement of public funds to SAA using his ’emergency’ powers under the Public Finance Management Act. It remains to be seen where they will find the money. Mboweni’s credibility and authority are on the line.”
“If Mboweni does not confirm that no public funds will be dispersed using section 16, we will approach the courts on an urgent basis to stop him from doing so. It would be totally unacceptable to inject yet another bailout into SAA using public money, or to offer government guarantees for new loans.”
