JOHANNESBURG – South African Airways (SAA) should be kept afloat as it cannot be kept going by bailouts by the state, said parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) chair, Themba Godi, says.

He was reacting to the state of the national carrier after its board appeared before his committee in Parliament on Tuesday.

READ: SAA running out of time to pay back loans

Godi said it seemed there were people who were deliberately mismanaging state entities.

The national carrier remains in a dire financial state and cannot afford to repay its R9.2-billion debt.

“ As a committee, our commitment is that SAA should be kept afloat. There have to be conditions and a demonstration of good governance,” Godi said.

“SAA cannot be kept on the basis of bailouts. Look at an office in Miami, each employee is paid like R65,000 per month. Those things can be fixed by any person who is committed to doing the right thing [to ensure] SAA is kept afloat.” 

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