Parliament says it hopes to submit the subpoena to compel Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to release crucial documents in the South African Airways (SAA) – Takatso deal by mid-January.
This is after it emerged last week that Gordhan declined to provide the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises with documents regarding the shortlist of bidders and the sale and purchase agreement regarding the deal.
The Takatso Consortium was chosen as the preferred bidder to buy a 51% in SAA. The transaction has not been concluded yet as some of the conditions of the deal are still outstanding.
Chairperson of the Committee, Khayalethu Magaxa, says Parliament’s legal services are busy formulating the necessary documents to subpoena the Minister to make the documents available.
GOOD Party MP, Brett Herron, says the envisaged equity partnership for the sale of 51% of SAA ought to be completed come next year.
“The SAA private equity deal needs to be concluded. It needs to be transparent and South Africans know what the deal is. And SAA must focus on expanding its networks and beginning to operate again. Transnet needs an urgent proper turnaround plan with its infrastructure and its operations if we are to turn around our exports and imports.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Enterprises says it refutes claims that it did not cooperate with the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises in its examination of the Strategic Equity Partnership transaction for SAA.
Public Enterprises Portfolio Committee Chairperson Khaya Magaxa provides more details in the report below:
