Parliament, Thursday, 5 October 2017 –The Standing Committee on Finance has given Parliament’s Legal Services Unit until 17 October 2017 to decide on the legality of National Treasury’s use of section 16 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) for the R3 billion bail-out for South African Airways (SAA). The Unit must also consult on the role of the Appropriations and Public Accounts Committees and the Auditor-General’s Office before reporting back to the Committee.
The Committee has noted that Section 16 of the PFMA allows the Finance Minister to authorise the use of funds to “defray expenditure of an exceptional nature, which is currently not provided for, without serious prejudice to the public interest.”
The Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Yunus Carrim, said, “The majority in the Committee believe that the allocation to SAA could have been foreseen and should have been done through an Appropriation Bill, but accept that it was necessary to rescue SAA, otherwise there would have been a call on the total R16,4 billion guarantee exposure.
“However, we strongly believe that National Treasury must explain what exactly are the conditions on which this money is being given. The Committee reiterates its views that the turnaround strategy should be significantly improved and effectively implemented. The SAA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) should be held on 3 November as proposed by Treasury, and the current Board Chairperson’s term should end with the AGM. People with appropriate aviation experience and expertise should be appointed to the Board, management strengthened and allegations of corruption should be tackled speedily.”
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, MR YUNUS CARRIM
Media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Mr Justice Molafo
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 8444
Cell: 081 424 7481
E-mail: jmolafo@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour