SAA rejects offer to bring funds from Zimbabwe

SAA has rejected an offer by Zimbabwean mining company Imani Mining to repatriate R350m of its funds from proceeds of ticket sales. The airline’s interim CEO, Thomas Kgokolo, says SAA is negotiating with the government of Zimbabwe for “an undisclosed amount of the airline’s proceeds that are being held by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which it has not been able to access. Negotiations are at an advanced stage ... our internal processes are yielding positive results, therefore we do not need outside help.”

SAA has rejected an offer by Zimbabwean mining company Imani Mining to repatriate R350m of its funds from proceeds of ticket sales.

The airline’s interim CEO, Thomas Kgokolo, says SAA is rather negotiating with the government of Zimbabwe for “an undisclosed amount of the airline’s proceeds that are being held by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe — which it has not been able to access. “Negotiations are at an advanced stage ... our internal processes are yielding positive results, therefore we do not need outside help.”

SAA has been unable to access the funds due to Zimbabwe’s severe shortage of foreign currency. An unsolicited offer in 2020 by Imani to repatriate the funds for a fee has been rejected by SAA and the department of public enterprises. The airline’s interim CFO, Fikile Mhlontlo, said SAA needed to follow its own supply chain management processes in considering bids to repatriate the funds.

“Central to this is that SAA is a state-owned company governed by the Public Finance Management Act and Treasury regulations,” Mhlontlo said.

The airline’s business rescue practitioners, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, had previously accepted the offer from Imani. The offer was, however, still subject to the approval from the airline’s board and the public enterprises department.

Department spokesperson Richard Mantu referred queries to the airline.

The R350m forms part of outstanding funds due to SAA, which will be deposited in the receivership established after the business rescue was completed. It will go towards settling SAA’s historical liabilities.

SAA has secured a strategic equity partner that will take a 51% stake in the airline, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan announced last week.