South African Airways, the national airline that\u2019s entered a form of bankruptcy protection, may only be offered 5% of the $60 million that its owed by neighbouring Zimbabwe in funds from ticket sales and hasn\u2019t been able to extract from the country.<\/p>\n
The central bank\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee plans to \u201creject the majority of debts\u201d owed to institutions, a move it hopes will save the southern African nation much needed foreign currency, Eddie Cross, a committee member, said. The country is unable to pay for adequate fuel and wheat imports.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will ask that a\u00a0haircut<\/span>\u00a0be taken by creditors,\u201d said Cross in a Dec. 5 interview in the capital, Harare.<\/p>\n Tlali Tlali, a spokesman for SAA, didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n In February, the central bank took over $1.2 billion of legacy debt when it dropped the 1:1 parity between its currency and the US dollar. The Zimbabwe dollar now trades at 16.42 to the greenback.<\/p>\n Cross put the legacy debt at $2.6 billion, more than double the central bank\u2019s previously stated figure. He didn\u2019t provide further details.<\/p>\n His comments on legacy debt echo similar views made last month by George Guvamatanga, the permanent secretary in the finance ministry, that institutions owed legacy debt should consider writing down some of the amount.<\/p>\n The International Air Transport Association in July said foreign airlines were owed $196 million by the southern African nation.<\/p>\n
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