SAA accused of breaking the law as it ducks money matters

South African Airways may be flying by the seat of its pants, but taxpayers will never know its money matters.

And SAA is not telling – again. Speculation is rife about yet another delay in the publication of the state-owned company’s financials, despite National Treasury already hinting at a loss earlier this year when it reported a R150 million loss in the first three months of the financial period in question.

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The Companies Act requires any company, whether state owned or private, to publish financial results within six months of the end of its financial year.

For SAA, that means D-day is on 30 September, less than two months away. The airline stalled releasing annual reports from 2019 until 2022, finally tabling it in December last year.

Cumulative losses for that period exceeded R23 billion. It blamed business rescue procedures and other challenges like the Covid pandemic. But, in essence, the company broke the law.

To date, SAA’s burden on taxpayers is nearing R80 billion when prior losses and bailouts, plus the more recent holes in its pockets, are added up.

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Minister in the Presidency for Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa late last month disclosed that SAA has delayed finalising its annual report due to outstanding issues the company was dealing with.

She did not say what it was and SAA and the minister both ignored questions from The Citizen.

‘SAA can break the law again’

Wayne Duvenage of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse said breaking the law is breaking the law and if SAA misses the deadline, it would have done so yet again.

“There is just no excuse. They have come out of business rescue, it’s supposed to be a going concern and yet we never know.

“As taxpayers, we have no clue whether the company is viable or not,” Duvenage said.

SAA seems untouchable, he said. “Why has nobody gone after them like they would a private company? The board is remiss in its duty and so are the boards of the various regulating bodies.”

According to some airlines The Citizen spoke to, SAA’s licences could also be in danger, should the company fail to meet its deadline.

Operators agreed that the Air Licensing Council requires a company to be fit and able to conduct, in a sustainable manner, the business of commercial aviation. It forms part of an annual submission that also includes network and business plans, among others.

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But without financials, said one airline executive, how could the airline prove it is operationally fit and financially stable?

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), which is supposed to question delays in the publication of financials, did not respond on whether any penalties were charged.

It also did not respond to any questions about fines for the flag carrier for its failure to comply with legal requirements.

To keep SAA registered as a company, an accountant said the airline must have filed its turnover as part of its annual returns to the CIPC, the only way to keep a company registered when lacking completed financials.