Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has rejected a High Court ruling, made on September 6, that he make a decision on the sale of Mango Airlines within 30 days.
He respectfully disagreed with the court’s ruling as he needed more time, he said in a statement earlier this week.
Gordhan said he wouldn’t be bullied into making a decision on the future of Mango Airlines, ‘respectfully’ telling the court that he wouldn’t be “cowed or submit to pressure”.
The court made its ruling on September 6 this year.
The Mango Airlines saga has dragged on for over two years, since the airline was put into voluntary business rescue in July 2021 and business rescue practitioners (BRP) were appointed.
The government, through the Department of Public Enterprises, wanted to dispose of its shareholding in the airline and have it acquired by private investors.
It was expected that the sale would be possible by November 2022, to allow SAA and Mango’s BRP to establish the disposal details.
However, this changed significantly in January. According to the BRP, Gordhan said he didn’t have the authority to provide information from SAA required for the sale, putting the entire disposal exercise at risk.
With no progress, the BRP said it had decided to take the matter to court to force a response from Gordhan.
