ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule made the remarks at a press conference on the outcomes of its national executive committee (NEC) meeting this week. Last week, the cash-strapped airline went under voluntary business rescue as it struggled to meet its immediate financial obligations. 

Magashule said there was a thorough consultation between the president and the NEC on the future of SAA. He said a decision had to be taken.

“Either we leave SAA as it is or go for business rescue or liquidation or even restructuring,” he said.

Magashule explained what business rescue meant for SAA and the ANC. 

“It is not privatisation, we are not going to privatise any state-owned entity. But we’ve said as the ANC that we have policy positions and what we need to be doing is to be guided by those policy conference decisions,” Magashule.

He said the NEC congratulated the president for being decisive on the affairs at SAA.

“The NEC received a report on the situation at South African Airways and commended the decisive intervention by the president of the republic to save SAA through the business rescue option, as well as the consultation process that preceded the decision.”

Eyewitness News