This follows the decision of the shareholders and creditors this week to support the business rescue process at the airline.
National Treasury has since sent a letter to the Business Rescue Practitioners confirming that government will back SAA with a financial injection. DA MP Geordin Hill-Lewis on Friday filed papers in the North Gauteng High Court to stop Mboweni from allocating R10bn to SAA.In his papers in the high court, Hill-Lewis said the actions of Mboweni were unjustified.
“SAA’s financial woes are well-known and a matter of public record. It has in the past been the recipient of several government bailouts. For the past few years it has for all intents and purposes been reliant on government funding,” said Hill-Lewis in court papers. “According to media reports the government has spent more than R16bn on bailouts for SAA over the past decade. Some put the figure close to R57bn since 1994,” stated Hill-Lewis.