The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it does not believe South African Airways (SAA) can be rescued and that the business rescue practitioners appointed to save the airline should instead apply for liquidation.
On Tuesday, SAA received a lifeline from the Development Bank of Southern Africa which committed R3.5 billion in emergency funding to the national carrier.
The bank will also give SAA an additional R2 billion in the form of a delayed draw term loan which stipulates that the borrower can withdraw pre-defined amounts of the money.
The DA’s Alf Lees says he has written to Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel regarding the details of the deal.
Lees says since December last year to date, SAA has lost R2 billion and is therefore running at a loss.
“The airline is more than just financially dead. Its clients have abandoned it. There’s an obligation on the business rescue practitioners to be completely honest and open about this and accept that the airline cannot be rescued. They should be applying to court for a liquidation,” explains Lees.
