SAA bailouts come with conditions, no ‘free money’ – Treasury DG

National Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane says R5.2 billion in bailouts transferred to bankrupt airline South African Airways (SAA) so far this year comes with conditions, despite perceptions that the funds were handed  with no strings attached, City Press reports.

Mogajane told the paper in a telephonic interview in Washington on Friday that the funds were not “free money”.

“There are conditions. SAA must meet them. One of the broader ones is that the airline has to appoint a chief restructuring officer; it did that. The officer will be starting work on October 15,” he said.

Mogajane was unable to say who the chief restructuring officer was.

He said that government and Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba intended to ensure that problems with SAA’s board were also addressed.

“In the action that we took to recapitalise SAA for the second time around, we put conditions around certain deliverables regarding its long-term turnaround strategy. It is not true that there no conditions. There are definitely conditions,” said Mogajane.

SAA’s new CEO Vuyani Jarana is expected to start his job at the struggling national carrier on November 1.

“SAA will be back on track. SAA is an issue we are focused on. We cannot afford for the airline not to get back on track,” said Mogajane.

Mogajane is currently in Washington as part of a Treasury delegation to the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank group. The meetings began on Friday and are expected end today.

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