As SAA bail-outs reach a staggering R16-billion, it’s believed the R14-billion stake in Telkom held by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) could be in Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s sights to help balance the books.
The latest bail-out – R2,2-billion to settle a debt with Standard Chartered Bank – has put the continued survival of the struggling airline under the spotlight.
Gigaba yesterday wrote to Speaker of the House Baleka Mbete, outlining a plan to sell of state assets to fund budget shortfalls brought about by the latest bail-out.
And it’s understood that the Telkom stake may form part of that sell-off.
Although details of what assets could be sold will only be made public in October, News24 is today quoting DA MP Dan Lees as saying the Telkom stake is a likely candidate.
Lees believes about R16-billion will have to be raised in order to totally bail out and recapitalise SAA.