State-owned telecommunications infrastructure company Broadband Infraco is one of three companies that have not tabled their integrated reports to parliament on time, public enterprises minister Lynne Brown’s office said on Tuesday.
Brown informed the speaker that South African Airways, South African Express Airways (SAX) and Broadband Infraco failed to meet Tuesday’s deadline, in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act, the ministry said in a statement.
But the Broadband Infraco report’s delay was blamed on a technical matter. President Jacob Zuma announced in May 2014 the establishment of the new department of telecommunications and postal services and the transfer of Infraco to the new department.
“The required proclamation to give effect to this was signed by President Zuma last week,” the company said. “This paves the way for the transfer and holding of the annual general meeting at which the integrated report will be tabled. It will be submitted within 10 days after the meeting to parliament.”
SAA and SAX could not table their reports “due to delays in the airlines’ finalisation of the various reports that must accompany their annual financial statements”.
The reports would be tabled at a later date, to be published in parliament’s announcements, tabling and committees bulletin on Tuesday.
In terms of the Companies Act, the state-owned enterprises had 15 calendar months after their previous annual general meetings to hold the 2014 AGM.
For SAX and Broadband Infraco, this period expires at the end of November 2015. SAA’s deadline is 31 March 2015.
Democratic Alliance spokeswoman Natasha Michael said Brown’s letters to parliament about the airlines indicated that both had asked for government financial assistance, through a going concern guarantee from the national treasury.
“Two weeks ago, in parliament’s portfolio committee on public enterprises, representatives from treasury, responding to funding concerns raised by the DA, stated categorically that treasury can no longer afford to bail out failing state enterprises,” she said in a statement.
“With nine ‘turnaround’ strategies in 13 years and R16bn over the past 20 years, investing any more state funds into SAA would be madness; SAA cannot be allowed to use the fiscus as its personal bank account with impunity,” Michael said.
Brown said she would, in the “not too distant future”, present cabinet with a proposal to address state ownership of the airlines and their long-term financial stability.
“An inter-ministerial committee task team has been meeting for some time to discuss the various models and concrete proposals will soon be ready,” Brown said. — Sapa, with NewsCentral Media
