Lerato Mbhiza
THE National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa is calling on Members of Parliament in the Public Enterprises Portfolio Committee to disclose and share with the public the documentation that Minister Pravin Gordhan submitted on the 51% sale of SAA to the Takatso Consortium.
NUMSA national spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the committee is currently investigating the deal which resulted in Takatso being chosen as the preferred equity partner to own a majority share of the airline.
“NUMSA has also noted the belligerent arrogant attitude that Pravin Gordhan has had in relation to this deal. According to an article published by Business Report
Gordhan has tried to strong-arm the committee into signing an NDA before accessing the documents” said Hlubi-Majola
Hlubi-Majola added that Gordhan has not been forthright and has deliberately been hiding information of this deal, after he seemingly single-handedly picked Takatso as the preferred equity partner without following any transparent public process.
“The 51% stake in SAA was awarded to Takatso only six weeks after the airline emerged from business rescue. Takatso promised to inject R3 billion into SAA, but that has not yet happened. The media has reported that SAA was sold for a measly R51 and this is why the deal must be investigated”.
NUMSA accused Gordhan of giving MP’s non-disclosure agreements when dealing with the documentation.
“He also requested that the meeting be held in secret. This is an outrageous demand and it must be condemned with the contempt that it deserves. It is ironic that Gordhan, who built his reputation on good governance and integrity, is behaving like a common criminal by refusing to publicly disclose information regarding the sale of SAA” she said.
Hlubi-Majola added that SAA is not profitable but has shown that it is financially viable. “In other words, it has shown that it does not need the government to bail it out. So why is it important to continue with an equity partner for SAA?” she Asked .
“NUMSA demands transparency in all documents that relate to the sales of SAA shares. All documentation must be shared with the public. We also demand that any future meetings on this must be made public, and we reject any secrecy. We reject any attempts by Gordhan to compel parliament into rubber stamping his irregular behaviour”.
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