House Chairperson and hon members, some in authority would have us believe that operations at SAA
are going like clockwork after an eight-day strike, which ended with a deal between management and unions last week Friday.
However, as you are aware, even the 5,9% increase given to the workers can only be implemented if and when SAA secures funds for working capital from the state. As usual, SAA hopes to receive this amount - another cash bailout from government - to fund its working capital needs. This is from an SOE that last published its annual financial report in 2017. To make matters worse, even in that financial report, SAA showed a loss of about R5,56 billion for the year.
Through these endless bailouts to SOEs like SAA, this uncaring government diverts resources that should be used to build houses for gogo Dlamini and tatu Jwarha from Site C and Site B in Khayelitsha. They use funds that should be used to address water challenges in Idutywa, Gcuwa, eRhini, money that should be channeled to the school infrastructure grant for the building of schools and the eradication of mud schools in rural provinces
like Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, among others.
Given the amount of bailouts SAA has received from the taxpayers over the past two decades and the fact that South Africa itself is heavily in debt, it should be clear to all and sundry that the fiscus can no longer afford to extend further bailouts to the national carrier. The fact is having SAA 100% government owned is not sustainable under the current circumstances.
In addition, the airline has deep-seated governance challenges, which predate the likes of Dudu Myeni. Fellow South Africans, the fact of the matter is that SAA, like most SOEs, is a major drain on the fiscus.
For these and many other reasons that we cannot state here, due to time constraints, the UDM believes the time has come for government to find a strategic private equity partner for SAA. This must however be done in a manner that ensures that government has controlling interest, which will allow it to veto or overturn decisions. For examples in this regard, one has to look
no further than our fellow Brics partners, China and Russia.
As we undertake this important step, it is important for us as a country to ensure that the private partners bring their own money, skills and expertise to the table, in order to guard against using the same taxpayers' money to fund their stake at SAA, which, in our view, would be another sophisticated form of a bailout.
IsiXhosa:
Yiyani phaya kwiNkozo yoPhapho yase-Ethopia bafuna ukuninceda, bathi yizani sizakuninceda. Yekani ukuphakama kodwa nixakiwe yile nkonzo yophapho. La masela.