Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and his public enterprises counterpart, Pravin Gordhan, on Tuesday briefed Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa).

MPs have heard how SAA was sitting with unhealthy debt of over R8 billion from previous years. The Public Enterprises Department said that the situation had become untenable despite billions in government funding to keep it in the skies.

Godongwana said that since SAA was taken out of Transnet and became independent from 2007/2008, it has cost the state, to date, R49 billion, an obvious fiscal drain which would justify selling a majority stake in the national carrier to a private partner.

Those interested in buying the flag carrier had a number of conditions, like holding a majority stake and no political interference.