Govt must face the facts about unaffordable state bodies

After Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan this week turned down pleas from South African Airways for more bailout funding and for help in procuring more foreign loans, it was difficult to see how our national airline could survive.

SAA already had one foot in the financial grave long before the coronavirus arrived to change forever the shape of air travel globally. After decades of mismanagement and looting, culminating in the depredations of the state capture years, the once-proud airline is a shadow of itself; a figure of ridicule.

Domestic and international services by the airline had already been drastically cut, as those running its “business rescue” operation tried to stem ongoing losses and push toward a hoped-for break-even point where it would not longer be a drain on taxpayer money.

The worldwide virtual collapse of commercial aviation has meant that even those faint hopes for SAA must have now been snuffed out.

A global economy which has imploded means air traffic will shrink as people husband their scarce financial resources, never mind the hordes who may have been scared off flying for life because aviation was clearly the vector for the Covid-19 pandemic.

South Africa will see far fewer tourists and far fewer people will travel locally for tourism and, when they do, will probably prefer other means of travel. It is going to be a battle for the country’s domestic airlines – even without SAA – to stay aloft.

While it is sad that a closure of SAA will leave many talented people on the street, perhaps the austere, post-Covid climate means that, at long last, our government will focus on living within its means.

If we can do without SAA entirely, do we need Eskom as a state enterprise, or should it be privatised?

This crisis means we must finally face facts.

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