The South African parliament has announced on Wednesday that it has decided to refer to a special investigative unit the collapsed deal to sell a majority stake in South African Airways to Takatso consortium.
The deal to sell a majority stake in the national carrier to the Takatso Consortium was announced by the government in 2021 as part of efforts to end the frequent bailouts of the airways.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said recently that the government and the consortium had reached a stalemate for the transaction after a new business and asset valuation.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises in a statement said the deal would be referred to the independent Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
The SIU investigates bribery and corruption at state entities, to ensure “accountability and transparency.”
The SIU has subpoena powers, can litigate on the government’s behalf and refers evidence suggesting criminal conduct to the state’s prosecutors.
The South African government has said the airways would revert to being fully state-owned.
It also added that a new way to generate money based on the airline’s assets would be explored with financial institutions, but ruled out bailouts in the months ahead.
The embattled airline was on the verge of being liquidated before it entered a form of bankruptcy protection in 2019.
Its finances deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to restricted air travel and totally shrunk its already minimal cashflow, forcing the government to hunt for a strategic equity partner to keep it afloat.
However, Minister Gordhan reassured the airline employees that their jobs were safe and that the company could sustain itself financially for the next year to 18 months.
