The spokesperson for Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, Adrian Lackay, has clarified to Engineering News Online that the lender who came to the assistance of beleaguered State-owned defence industrial group Denel, allowing it to pay its staff their full salaries for this month, was “a commercial bank in South Africa”. Earlier this week, Denel had announced that it would be paying its employees only 85% of their salaries due to them this month.

“Neither I nor the Ministry of Public Enterprises are privy to specific details of the transaction – it is a commercial transaction between a bank and its client, and subject to their confidentiality rules,” he explained. “The running of Denel’s daily operations are left to the Board which exercises its oversight function over the company’s management. The Ministry has full confidence in the current Denel board and the management team to return the company to operational and financial sustainability.”

Separately, Denel’s CEO, Danie du Toit, has assured that it has a thorough-going programme to turn itself around and establish itself as a sustainable entity. “The positive sentiments expressed by both President [Cyril] Ramaphosa [in Parliament] and Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, will help to restore confidence in Denel among existing and prospective clients, suppliers and employees,” he observed in a statement issued on Thursday.

“The support given to us by the President in Parliament will help us to position Denel as a reliable designer and manufacturer of world-class defence and technology systems,” added Du Toit. “Our reputation took a severe battering with the revelations about state capture and widespread irregularities in the company, but we are taking determined steps to get it back on track.”

The Denel statement quoted Gordhan’s comment that the group was “a crucial and strategic State entity that was substantially harmed by state capture”. The Minister added that Denel was renegotiating its existing contracts, and improving its negotiation of new contracts, to improve its margins.

“We appreciate the recent opportunity to meet with the President together with other State-owned companies [SOEs] to identify the challenges we experience,” affirmed Du Toit. “We are looking forward to work together in the Presidential SOE Council.”