South Africa is considering an independent board for its ailing national airline, with a shareholder structure similar to that of part state-owned telecoms firm Telkom, a senior government minister said.
Browsing: Pravin Gordhan
South African Airways’ administrators proposed the government put up at least R26.7-billion to rescue the carrier after years of losses and the grounding of commercial passenger flights.
Efforts to address Eskom’s R450-billion debt burden have taken a back seat to the government’s focus on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
Government has provisionally agreed to allocate at least R21-billion to the country’s embattled national airline to help repay debt and resume operations after the lifting of Covid-19 travel bans.
South African Airways plans to lay off its entire 4 700-strong workforce after failing to persuade the government to provide more financial help.
South African Airways has been denied any further funding by government as the national carrier looks for ways to recover from the coronavirus crisis and business rescue.
Administrators for South Africa’s loss-making state airline have defended their decision to cut routes as part of a turnaround plan, after objections from President Cyril Ramaphosa, government and labour unions.
Proposals to reorganise the R454-billion owed by Eskom are days away from completion, according to an official who’s overseen their formulation.
The bold proposal by Cosatu to relieve Eskom of close to 60% of its debt using pension money may be presented by President Cyril Ramaphosa in next week’s state of the nation address.
Eskom’s new CEO, André de Ruyter, hopes to regain South Africa’s trust by addressing operational stability at the power utility.