South African Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, has approved the disbursement of a ZAR5 billion (USD351 million) state-backed guarantee to struggling carrier, South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) following a meeting on Friday, September 9.
The move will allow the loss-making carrier to finalize its 2015/16 accounts and retain its status as a going concern.
Earlier this year, Gordhan had conditioned the extension of state funding to the airline on it resolving its managerial issues once and for all.
On September 2, the South African cabinet approved a new board for SAA. Despite some new faces, the reappointment of chairwoman, Duduzile Myeni, has generated severe backlash from opposition politicians who are now planning to have the decision reversed via court order.
