South African Parliamentary Finance Committee expresses concern about SAA

South Africa's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance expressed (31-Aug-2016) concern about the state of South African Airways (SAA) and called for the airline, the National Treasury and the Presidency to cooperate to stabilise the company. The Committee urged the National Treasury to ensure the airline's FY2014/15 annual report and financial statement are tabled in Parliament by 15-Sep-2016, stating, "This matter has dragged on for an unacceptably long time." The Committee called for a new SAA board to be appointed, replacing the interim board, and for the carrier's management to be "strengthened considerably" as soon as possible. The Committee is also concerned about reports SAA could be de-registered in Hong Kong if its financial statement is not finalised and noted the implications of an advert by SAA seeking to raise ZAR16 billion (USD1.1 billion) in the market. The Committee stated, "the structural constraints SAA confronts in the aviation industry need to be addressed and a consensual as well as effective turnaround strategy needs to be forged and rigorously implemented." [more - original PR]