The United National Transport Union (UNTU) has lambasted the government as state-owned enterprise Transnet is set to lose R222 million in a botched SA Express loan deal from December 2017.
This comes in response to the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, who told parliament of dire financial straits currently being experienced at South African Airways (SAA) and SA Express last week, with the transport union claiming the lost R222 million would affect its members.
"To UNTU this means that SA Express will never be able to repay Transnet its loan and that will be to the detriment of UNTU members, the majority of Transnet’s employees," the union has stated.
Transnet has already written off R500mn in bad debt, and according to Steve Harris, UNTU Secretary General, the union will try and prevent any further loss.
"UNTU wants to prevent a situation where Transnet has to write off R220 million to debtors who have not paid the SOE back. It is shocking that Transnet already wrote of R500m of bad debt in the previous financial year," said Harris.
The union has also called upon government officials to stop cross-funding and interfering in SOEs, and comply with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appeal to stop the political interference at SOEs. – Bjorn Vorster.
