Gordhan assures SAA employees airline won't collapse

CAPE TOWN - Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan on Monday met with South African Airways (SAA) employees at Airways Park, assuring them the airline would not collapse. 

He said that its executive was already looking at ways to raise capital following last week’s announcement that its private partnership deal with the Takatso Consortium had tanked, almost three years since it was named the preferred partner. 

Gordhan told around 2,000 staff that he’s confident the airline’s management would steer the national carrier to greater heights after it marked its 90th-anniversary last month.

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In an address to SAA staff on Monday, the minister told them the airline had a great future but they would have to work as a collective to prove the naysayers wrong. 

Gordhan said they should be grateful to government for staving off the airline’s liquidation at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He added that it was government’s ambition for the airline to make enough profit to pay dividends to government, rather than look for bailouts. 

Last month, the Treasury told Parliament that SAA had suffered losses of R770 million in the previous nine months.

Public Enterprises spokesperson, Ellis Mnyandu: "Minister Gordhan told SAA staff the airline will grow, it will expand but he cautioned them not to allow negativity to come near them and that there should be zero tolerance for corruption at SAA." 

Gordhan said the airline was already looking for ways to raise money to fund its route expansion plans.