A recent judgment in the Western Cape High Court (October 3)  that sought to stop the deal between SAA and Takatso Consortium, could be the key to unlock the implementation of the deal, pending since June 2021.

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) said it welcomed the judgment, dismissing with costs an application by Toto Investments Holdings to interdict the implementation of the introduction of a strategic equity partner into SAA. 

“The judgment paves the way for the Department to proceed with the implementation of the SAA/Takatso transaction,” said a statement by the DPE

Toto Investments sought the disclosure of all documents on a non-confidential basis and also intended to interdict the implementation of the transaction with Takatso, pending the finalisation of the review application.

The court ordered that certain documents be disclosed on a confidential basis while others should be disclosed on a non-confidential basis.

Meanwhile, the judge has ordered that the main review application be placed under judicial case management until the matter is heard in January 2023. However, since the interdict application was dismissed, the Department can continue taking steps to implement the transaction.

“It is unfortunate that Toto had to press ahead with this ill-fated strategy after we discussed with them at length about the confidentiality nature of the transaction,” said Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan.

Gordhan noted political influences in the matter. “It is interesting to note that certain political parties want to intervene in this matter with nefarious intentions. It is clear that this is a political agenda which is intended to set back and disrupt the reforms of SOEs. This will facilitate further corruption.

“The Department remains committed to ensuring that this transaction is implemented as soon as possible, and the disruptive forces will not deter our efforts in ensuring that a restructured, agile and competitive national airline emerges,” said Gordhan.