SAA will be transferred from the Department of Public Enterprises to the National Treasury. 
The announcement was made at the last post Cabinet briefing of the year, which was chaired by Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe. 
Addressing the media today, Minister Radebe said Cabinet was concerned about the performance of some State-owned companies, in particular SAA, the South African Post Office and Eskom. 
“These SOCs play a critical developmental role within the South African economy. The President has assigned Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to oversee the turnaround of three state-owned companies, namely SAA, Eskom and the South African Post Office. 
“Working with the relevant ministries, the SAA will be transferred from the Department of Public Enterprises to the National Treasury. The Presidency will closely monitor the implementation of the turnaround plans of these three critical State-owned companies that are drivers of the economy,” said Minister Radebe. 
SAA announced its 90-Day Action Plan aimed at steering the airline back to the full implementation of its Long-Term Turnaround Strategy on Tuesday. Acting SAA CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said the airline was working closely with the Department of Public Enterprises and National Treasury to ensure implementation progress against the 90-Day Action Plan interventions.
At a media briefing last week Bezuidenhout said the first and most critical step of the rescue plan was to address the airline’s liquidity position, on-going solvency and medium-term funding requirements. SAA is relying on state-guaranteed loans and requires an extension of the guarantee by government. This includes the immediate review and reconfiguration of loss-making routes such as Beijing, Hong Kong and Mumbai. The airline recently strengthened ties with Star Alliance partner, Air China, which – within the next few months – will see more points through which SAA can service the Chinese market.
With regard to an equity partner, Bezuidenhout said what the company needed was not a purist equity partner but a strategic one that could not only offer a capital injection into the business but also come to the table with management skills and expertise to help put SAA back on track. 
“Etihad is well known to take minority stakes in various entities and that option would be available to Etihad,” Bezuidenhout said. He added that he would not want to talk on Etihad’s behalf of intent expressed but that the airlines were looking to strengthen their commercial ties.  
Other steps in the 90-Day Action Plan include a substantial focus on governance failures within the business, a review of all contractual burdens, reorganisation and optimisation of assets, and improved communication.
“In the past you’ve heard about the many plans that SAA has had over the years. This is more about action and delivery and less about a plan and strategy,” Bezuidenhout said.