Cape Town – If South African Airways had not received a R5bn going concern guarantee, it would have posed a systemic risk
to all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa, Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas said on Tuesday.
Jonas, who made a few
introductory remarks, was part of a delegation from National Treasury and SAA
who briefed Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance on the airline’s
preliminary financial statements for 2014-15.
He said SAA would have
been unable to finalise their financial statements without a guarantee. “But it
would have been been prudent to give that kind of support without first
mitigating the fiscal risk.”
Jonas pointed out that
SOEs’ financial position poses a significant risk to South Africa’s fiscal
position. In fact, the financial well-being of all CEOs is being taken into
account when rating agencies assess South Africa’s credit risk.
Before handing over to
acting CEO Musa Zwane, Jonas said the R4.7bn guarantee SAA received put the
airline in a position to finalise sets of financial statements for
both 2014-15 and 2015-16.
The 2015-16 financial statements would be finalised before September 30 this year, Jonas said.
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