Zuma to pay SAA a ‘monitoring visit’

President Jacob Zuma will on Friday undertake a “monitoring visit” to South African Airways (SAA) just days after Treasury put the airline on notice that it would receive financial support only once a new board of directors was in place.

The Presidency announced that SAA will be one of two state-owned companies (SOC) – the other being Eskom – Zuma will visit to make good on his State of the Nation Address announcement “that government will provide support to SOCs while also implementing the reforms that would make them more effective in delivering on their mandates”.

“Government fully appreciates the positive role and contribution that SOCs can and should play in supporting the attainment of the National Development Plan objectives‚ especially in the areas of stepping up investment‚ growing the economy‚ expanding the skills base and creating jobs‚” it said.

BDlive reported on Wednesday that Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas told MPs in the National Assembly that when a new board had been appointed and key roles – such as CEO and CFO – had been filled “government will be in a position to consider possible support that would enable SAA to table its annual financial statements for the last two years‚ as a going concern”

It said that it had been reliably learnt that the long delay — since January — in getting a new board appointed is a result of the stalemate between Zuma‚ who insists on the retention of his close friend‚ SAA chairwoman Dudu Myeni‚ and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan‚ who has proposed the new board.

The airline has been unable to table its financial statements for 2014-15 in Parliament — due by August last year — because of the concern by auditors over its going-concern status.