National Treasury will respond in a week to a controversial application by the SAA board to renegotiate a contract with Airbus for the lease of five A330 wide-body aircraft, Deputy Finance Minister, Mcebisi Jonas, told Parliament in Cape Town on November 18.

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SAA in March already renegotiated a 2002 contract to swop the purchase of 10 A320 narrow-body aircraft with a lease for the five A330s, thereby saving R1,6 billion (€105 million). SAA Non-executive Director and Chairperson of its Audit and Risk Committee, Yakhe Kwinana, told Parliament SAA was still committed to swapping the aircraft but now wanted to opt out of an operating lease through Airbus and instead aim for a finance lease through a local funding company.

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