South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa has moved South African Airways from the Ministry of Finance to the Department of Public Enterprises, effective August 1.

The announcement was made on Wednesday (August 1) in a statement issued by the National Treasury.

This means that Pravin Gordhan, Minister of Public Enterprises, will oversee the airline’s turnaround strategy.

The transfer follows a study commissioned by the Treasury and the Department of Public Enterprises to develop an optimal group structure for the state-owned aviation assets.

"The recommendations from this study, if considered appropriate, may require implementing changes to the group structure of SAA," read the statement.

"As the executive authority for other major state-owned companies, including SA Express, the Minister of Public Enterprises is best placed to be the custodian of all of the state’s aviation assets. These assets are SAA, its subsidiary Mango, and SA Express."