Johnathan Paoli
Numsa says Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan’s obstinate refusal to hand over crucial information, on the sale of SAA, to Members of Parliament was not only uncooperative but extremely arrogant.
Numsa’s spokesperson Phakamile-Hlubi Majola said the minister should be axed for mishandling state-owned entities.
“Numsa is vindicated because Gordhan has proven that we were right about him all along. Gordhan is presiding over State Capture 2.0 through the sale of SAA,” Majola said.
The union’s General Secretary Irvin Jim said they are repeating the demand for Gordhan to be removed because he continues to show the middle finger to any recognised institution that attempts to hold him to account.
“There are numerous reasons why Gordhan must be fired. In his tenure as minister of SOE’s he has collapsed every single one of them. His disastrous track record, coupled with the dodgy SAA deal means that his dismissal is way overdue.
“But it seems the governing party is too cowardly to act against a minister as grossly incompetent as Gordhan, and one wonders why? He does as he pleases and there are no consequences,” Jim said.
Jim went on to say that the media was too biased in Gordhan’s favour, and the damage done in relation to job losses was far worse than what former president Jacob Zuma was accused of, and yet no one has called for his summary dismissal.
The accusations that the union laid before Gordhan include: mismanagement of Eskom that led to increasing job losses, the implementation of what they have called a failed Just energy Transition at the Komati power station, which has caused immense suffering to the working class, because of the premature closure of the power station, as well as the d the sale of the airline to “friends and former senior leaders of the governing party”.
Numsa called out Jabu Moleketi who was the former Deputy Minister of Finance, former MEC of Finance in Gauteng, as well as serving in the ANC NEC, and who is currently the director of Harith General Partners, which owns a majority shareholding in the Takatso Consortium.
In addition, the union attributed the crisis at Transnet to Gordhan’s inadequate performance, especially in light of the allegations of interference with both executive boards and operation decisions.
“Need we remind the public that we have put our faith in the hands of a pharmacist who has consistently shown that he has zero business acumen? As long as he continues to run the DPE we can expect even more rampant mismanagement, and more failures. We can continue to expect our SOE’s to collapse and this is why urgent action must be taken to remove him,” Jim said.
While Gordhan on Thursday tabled four years of reports in Parliament for South African Airways (SAA) from 2019 to 2022, the audited financial report for 2023 remains outstanding.
SAA made a loss of R3.6 billion in 2021/22 – the last year for which financial statements are now available, with expectations of a modest profit for 2023, the first full year of flying since exiting the business rescue.
The audited statements revealed that SAA owned assets of R7.6 billion and a positive equity of R700 million.
The 2023 audit is expected to be concluded in April next year.
In addition, the North Gauteng High Court dismissed an application by Gordhan for leave to appeal against a judgment forcing him to make a decision about the sale of Mango Airlines, a subsidiary of SAA in a business rescue plan.
Previously, the court issued an order declaring the minister’s failure to make a decision regarding an application for the proposed sale as unlawful and constitutionally invalid.
Gordhan had 30 days to make the decision and provide reasons for it, failing which it would be presumed the application was approved.
According to Hlubi-Majola, if the sale goes through, Mango will be wholly owned by a private equity partner and will no longer be owned by SAA – resulting in the department losing its shareholder status in the entity.
“This case is a victory for the union because it protects the interests of our members and protects the future of the airline,” Hlubi-Majola said.
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