The Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises have raised concerns about the precarious financial situation of the South African Airways.
The joint committee also resolved to ‘keep a close eye’ on the airline.
The joint committee raised its concerns over the non-submission of the annual financial statements.
The airline has not made any profit since 2011, and has been struggling with unprofitable routes and a bloated workforce, despite bailouts of more than R20 billion over the past four years.
The committees said they want to stress the urgency of the need to know what has led SAA to be in the position it is in currently.
“The lack of financial statements has put the joint committee in the dark, as for the past two years the last financial statements to be tabled by SAA were in 2016/17,” said the joint committee.
The joint committee has now set a date after the 6th of March 2020, the end of the three months’ period that the business rescue practitioners require for establishing the plan and presenting it to the creditors, to request the business rescue practitioners to appear and answer to all the issues that are outstanding where SAA is concerned.
“The realities of the business rescue process have set into motion a new dynamic to oversight, therefore the committees will give the business rescue practitioners space and time within the prescribed time of 90 days, which expires on 6 March 2020, to complete their work. This matter between SAA (with a particular reference to the business rescue practitioners) and Parliament is work in progress.”
