The South African government, after months of speculation on what to do with the cash-strapped South African Airways, has ruled out any move to liquidate the national carrier from existence, a senior official said on Thursday.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan speculation said that the government did not want “a fire sale” of the troubled carrier’s assets nor for the carrier to be liquidated from operation.
In this regard, Gordhan told a Parliamentary committee that government was in talks with the rescue specialists in charge of SAA on how best to save the state-owned airline which entered into a form of bankruptcy protection in December.
The minister admitted that the business practitioner team’s intent in its current form was to liquidate the airline but “in our view, it will not serve the original objective that we set for the business rescue process,” Gordhan said.
According to the minister, the government wanted to see the SAA restructured into a new airline and not send it into oblivion.
“We want to indicate that there should be no fire sale of important assets of SAA, nor should there any movement towards liquidation when in fact there are many alternatives that can be pursued” to save the carrier,” he added.
Gordhan acknowledged that various pressure groups, like trade unions, were not pleases with the idea of liquidating the national carrier.
Due to this, the trade unions appealed to the ruling African National Congress party to plead with government to save the SAA from liquidation as planned by its current handlers, the minister added.
NM/as/APA