Gordhan must stop being steam-rolled by Myeni and halt R256 million for inflated contract

7 July 2016

Dudu Myeni, President Zuma’s very close friend, and her SAA Board of loyalists are once again attempting to steam-roll the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, the National Treasury and South African taxpayer, by offering a Treasury-unapproved finder’s fee to help them with their financial woes of R171 million more than the stated market value. 

I will write to Minister Gordhan to reclaim his Executive authority and halt this deal until open and transparent tender processes are carried out. Furthermore, my colleague, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, Natasha Mazzone MP, will write to SAA Chairperson, Dudu Myeni, requesting that she make a public statement on this deal and finally make public SAA’s long-overdue financials.

Revelations this morning that the SAA Board have appointed an unknown “boutique financier” to raise funds to bail out the mismanaged and bankrupt airline for a fee three times higher than the other service providers is yet another slap in the face for Minister Gordhan and the South African public who need this money for better basic services.

Some seven months after Minister Gordhan took over from the three-day Finance Minister and immediately made it known that a competent Board for SAA needed to be appointed, Dudu Myeni and her Board of lackeys continue to run SAA as if they need to account to none but Ms Myeni.

The annual financial statements for the 2014/15 year have still not been published, on the basis that the Auditor-General (A-G) will declare that SAA is not a “Going Concern.” However, the A-G did not declare it so. That they have found the money ex-post facto to claim urgency for the purposes of circumventing proper tender processes is ludicrous. 

It is clear that the “urgency” excuse given by the SAA Board for not going out to tender is pure nonsense, as the need for working capital to replace maturing loans was known years in advance. The real reason is simply the enrichment of an ANC cadre and former official from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and National Empowerment Fund (NEF) – both highly contentious entities firmly under the control of President Zuma and his friends. 

The question must surely be: Who exactly will benefit from the highly excessive R256.5 million “finder’s fee”?

The wasteful expenditure of an extra R 171 million on the “finder’s fee” is outrageous, and if anything, this will give Minister Gordhan another valid excuse to step in and fire Dudu. 

Issued by Alf Lees, DA Deputy Shadow Minister of Finance, 7 July 2016