Lerato Mbhiza
THE National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has called on the Special Investigation Unit to investigate the transaction to sell a 51% stake in SAA to Takatso Consortium following the unexpected termination of the deal by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.
On Wednesday, in a surprise move, Gordhan said after a Cabinet briefing that the negotiations with Takatso were no longer yielding a fair deal for SAA which he said had begun to show signs of improving the value of its assets.
NUMSA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the union has welcomed the termination of the deal but pointed out that they have been opposed to the deal from the start .
“NUMSA worked with the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) as a progressive labour block to oppose this deal and to oppose privatisation of SAA. We welcome this announcement because we have succeeded in achieving this major milestone, which was to prevent SAA from being privatised.
“However, we are not satisfied with the explanation given by Minister Pravin Gordhan on the SAA deal. It is very clear to us that there are a lot of unanswered questions which require an indepth investigation. This is why NUMSA is demanding that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) must investigate the deal,” she said
Hlubi-Majola added that it doesn’t matter that the deal has been terminated, it was terminated simply because Gordhan was about to be exposed.
“More than three thousand jobs were lost to justify the privatisation of SAA. Those workers are still suffering and we are demanding accountability for decisions taken by Gordhan”.
Gordhan has denied that he pulled the plug on the SAA private equity deal because of political pressure from within the ANC and said he would not allow his name to be sullied by claims that he acted in a corrupt manner when he chose the Takatso Consortium as the preferred equity partner for SAA.
“If you find me having stolen one cent of public money, then you got something on your side that I don’t have.”
He also denied mixing the deal because some within the ANC were opposed to a majority share of the airline being sold.
“I don’t give in to political pressure of the kind the question is raising. Professionally, we came to the point where we say, maybe this is not the best route for SAA to be taken through.”
However, the DA said Gordhan couldn’t just walk into retirement without being held accountable for entering a dud deal.
The DA’s Alf Lees suggested that Gordhan table the termination documents and be held accountable for failing to exercise due diligence before entering into negotiations with Takatso.
INSIDE POLITICS
