South African parliamentary committee plans urgent meeting with SAA leadership — Daily Maverick
South Africa’s parliamentary committee on appropriations plans to hold an urgent meeting with the leadership of state-owned airline South African Airways (SAA) shortly after the municipal elections on November 4. The carrier is expected to provide properly prepared financial statements, Daily Maverick reports.
Questions for the airline’s management
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy called on SAA board chair Sedzani Mudau to provide explanations regarding the company’s governance and financial issues. In a letter to the minister dated October 19, chair of the parliamentary committee on appropriations Mmusi Maimane said that the committee had received internal SAA information that raised serious concerns about executive appointments and the accuracy of data on the airline’s financial position.
The committee wants to establish whether employee complaints were considered, what SAA’s current financial position is, how the 1.1 billion rand from the sale of a Heathrow slot was used, and whether the carrier expects new state support. The committee on appropriations oversees the allocation and use of public funds, as well as financial accountability and possible irregularities.
State guarantees and reporting
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said during the presentation of the medium-term budget policy that SAA received a state guarantee of 1 billion rand in August for working-capital needs. According to him, the airline’s operations and finances came under pressure due to a surge in fuel prices.
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A further 223 million rand in state guarantees is linked to obligations related to unused tickets and credits. As the minister noted, the risks depend on SAA’s ability to withstand this pressure and meet operational and financial needs without additional state support.
SAA did not submit its annual report for the 2025/26 financial year by the statutory deadline of September 30 because the audit was still under way. In a letter to parliament dated September 4, Creecy said that the financial statements were planned to be finalized and prepared for submission by the end of October 2026.
Audit and personnel changes
In its annual report for the financial year ending March 31, 2025, SAA received a disclaimer of opinion from the auditor. The auditor said it was unable to obtain sufficient evidence that contracts and price quotations had been processed in accordance with legal requirements, including because of inadequate record-keeping and procurement and contract registers.
According to the Sunday Times, SAA employees were to receive their October salaries in stages from October 27 to 30; citing a source, the publication called this the second such delay. In April, Professor John Lamola abruptly left his position as group chief executive. Matshela Seshibe, head of subsidiary Air Chefs, was appointed acting chief, but in August he was immediately placed on special leave pending an internal proceeding.
