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The DA welcomes Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba’s, press briefing on the matter of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and funding for SAA.

However, National Treasury must urgently clarify how the airline’s funding requirements that are required in a mere four days are going to be met and whether section 16 of the Public Finance Management Act will be invoked again.

Rather than making matters ‘clear and clean’ as suggested by Treasury Director General, Dondo Mogojane, the press briefing has raised more questions than answers.

The Ministers and Director General of National Treasury confirmed that:

• Treasury has had extensive discussions with the PIC on possible funding for the SAA bailout;
• Some lenders to SAA will not extend some or all of their loans to SAA beyond Saturday; and
• There is no possibility of a Special Appropriations Bill in time to secure funding to meet the SAA lenders repayment deadline.

Despite what was confirmed, the uncertainty over how the SAA funding crisis is going to be dealt with remains.

This uncertainty cannot remain until the Medium Term Budget Policy Speech (MTBPS) process is completed and the people of South Africa cannot afford to be left in the dark as to the details of the full recapitalisation plan for SAA that Treasury says will amount to R10 billion in the current 2017/18 financial year.

This uncertainty will have a negative impact on the South African sovereign ratings and must be clarified long before the MTBPS.

Issued by DA