The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade, Ms Sonja Boshoff, has sounded a warning alarm about misleading utterance that R3.8 Billion had been committed to bailout the South African Post Office (SAPO).
Ms Boshoff said she remained acutely concerned about the future of the SAPO and the livelihoods of its remaining employees. "This is nothing but a COSATU-ploy to twist the President's arm and an entirely unnecessary distraction ahead of the State of the Nation Address. It is incorrect to suggest that the Department of Finance, the National Treasury, is withholding funds that were promised or approved. Repeating such claims risks misleading workers and the public and creates expectations that are not supported by law or fact."
She added: "The absence of a credible, implementable turnaround plan, together with prolonged business rescue processes that have focused on closures and retrenchments rather than operational recovery, has materially weakened the SAPO's financial and operation position."
Media reported on Tuesday that the COSATU was seeking a government meeting on an allegedly promised R3.8 billion rescue fund for the SAPO. Ms Boshoff said it was incumbent on her to correct the misinformation around the alleged promised funding or bailout to SAPO, an entity upon which her committee played oversight.
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She vowed to continue to ensure that the committee exercised oversight over the performance and decisions of the SAPO's Business Rescue Practitioners; the role of the shareholder department; National Treasury's fiscal position; and the protection of workers within a lawful and sustainable framework.
"All stakeholders are urged to engage responsibly and accurately. Sustainable solutions cannot be built on funding assumptions that were never approved, committed, or appropriated. The National Treasury has been explicit in its engagements with Parliament, that there exists no legally binding commitment of R3.8 billion was ever made to SAPO," said Ms Boshoff.
"The figure of R3.8 billion originates from assumptions and proposals contained in the SAPO's Business Rescue Plan. Treasury has further clarified that, in law, public funds can only be released once they have been formally appropriated through the budget process. No such appropriation exists in respect of the R3.8 billion cited."
Ms Boshoff said a position that has been consistently maintained by National Treasury officials and legal advisers in parliamentary oversight processes is that National Treasury is not legally obliged to transfer this amount, and no such payment commitment has been made.
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"This reflects the Minister of Finance's constitutional responsibility to safeguard the fiscus and ensure that all expenditure complies with legal, fiscal and governance requirements. What has occurred is limited interim support, including short-term relief funding provided through departmental mechanisms; and partial UIF-TERS payments, which were conditional, time-bound, and subject to compliance.
"These measures do not constitute, and were never intended to constitute, a R3.8 billion commitment," concluded Ms Boshoff.
