South African Airways said \u201ctime is of the essence\u201d for the government to provide a pledged cash injection if the loss-making national carrier is to continue flying.<\/p>\n
The National Treasury agreed last month to give the airline 2 billion rand ($140 million) as part of the terms of its bankruptcy protection, but has yet to follow through. SAA cancelled 38 flights this week to save money and warned that further cuts may be in the offing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are awake to the fact that the money we need will serve as working capital and that time is of the essence,\u201d Tlali Tlali, SAA\u2019s spokesman, said by phone on Thursday. \u201cWhile we do not sit with cash in hand, we remain optimistic that there will be a favourable outcome. We have been notified that the matter is receiving priority attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
SAA has lost money since 2012 as it grapples with mismanagement, high operating costs and an inefficient jet fleet, leaving it reliant on government bailouts to survive.<\/p>\n
Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, who were appointed as SAA\u2019s business rescue practitioners last month, are due to present a turnaround plan to creditors by the end of next month, but it is doubtful the airline can continue operating until then without additional state aid.<\/p>\n
\u2018Working Feverishly\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the National Treasury is \u201cworking feverishly\u201d to source the R2 billion, which wasn\u2019t provided for in the budget and will have to come from other sources.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have given our commitment that we will try to support SAA as much as we can and that we will work as much as we can to help,\u201d Mboweni told the South African Broadcasting Corp. in Davos on Wednesday. Dondo Mogajane, the Treasury\u2019s director-general, didn\u2019t answer calls to his mobile phone.<\/p>\n The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the South African Cabin Crew Association, which represent about 3,000 SAA workers, accused the government of undermining the effort to save the airline.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe they have sabotaged that process,\u201d Numsa spokeswoman Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said by phone. \u201cIt is unacceptable that the R2 billion that was promised has still not been paid. We want to see action.\u201d<\/p>\n The top leadership of the ruling African National Congress has decided that SAA must be retained and restructured to ensure it becomes financially sustainable, Enoch Godongwana, the chairman of the party\u2019s economic sub-committee, told reporters in Johannesburg on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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