Auditor general: SAA has racked up more than R22 billion in fruitless expenditure

The Office of the Auditor-General says South African Airways (SAA) has racked up more than R22 billion in irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure to date.

However, this number is likely to rise as the group’s financial statements for four financial years are outstanding.

It said it had concluded its audit of SAA for the 2016/2017 and 2017/18 financial years while briefing Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday.

Questions remain about who will account for its financial mismanagement and how there will be effective oversight once the sale of 51% of its shares to the private consortium, Takatso, is concluded.

Fhumulani Rabonda told Scopa that the Department of Public Enterprises was keeping the terms and conditions of the sale under wraps until the transaction awaiting regulatory approvals was finalized.

“We have not seen the agreement. We did request [to see] the agreement but the [department] did indicate that they will only make the agreement available to us once the transaction is finalized.”

The department said a further R3.5 billion was needed to seal the deal with Takatso. Former finance minister Tito Mboweni said no to this and so far, so has his successor, Enoch Godongwana.

Robanda said a new oversight model for SAA will be needed as it will no longer be a wholly state-owned company and the Public Finance Management Act will no longer apply to it.

-EWN

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