You have got to love state ownership if you run an airline. No pesky shareholders; all you have to do is upgrade the key people in politics and business keeps rolling along. Profits? Not the key issue.
To get an idea of just how bad this is, watch this video. It is from the South African Parliament. Parliamentary privilege allows us to hear and see this because where this information shared outside parliament, the sharer would be in jail. It is no surprise the original document was “secret”. The veiled threat by the government minister, in response, is sinister. This minister is also deputy president and a potential candidate to replace Mr. Zuma. Mr. Zuma is not highly regarded. It appears his deputy is no shining star.
The idea is to bailout (again) South Africa Airways with R10Bn (~$760m) funded by the sale of the state’s 39% stake in national telecommunication provider Telkom. The state is in such poor fiscal shape that an R10Bn bailout will impact the national credit rating. It is already rated junk status by Fitch and S&P.
