SAA has R1.1bn stuck in cash-strapped Zimbabwe
South African Airways (SAA) has approximately $85-million (R1.1-billion) locked in Zimbabwe that it cannot currently access due to the country's liquidity crisis.
According to SAA Regional Manager, Winnie Muchanyuka, the funds are in Zimbabwean banks.
Zimbabwe is facing severe foreign currency shortages. Foreign currency is needed to transfer the proceeds of local ticket sales to airlines outside the country.
The forex shortage has seen the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe issue an exchange control directive to banks to move funds to its coffers, in a development that is likely to further delay the payment.
The RBZ guaranteed that the funds will be paid to the beneficiaries in US dollars, a move that is meant to preserve value after the country introduced a local currency as the sole legal tender, abandoning its former multi-currency system.
SAA said it will comply with the directive to move the funds to the central bank.
"SAA will comply with exchange control regulations of the land and as such the debt will be moved to Reserve Bank as per statute, we await instructions from the bank as to how the process will flow," said Muchanyuka.
Another South African-owned company, Nampak Zimbabwe, has since agreed with the RBZ terms for its $57-million (R793-million) trapped in Zimbabwe.
The Reserve Bank will pay Nampak International the amount owed by the Nampak Zimbabwe in quarterly installments over three years.
“An agreement was reached between Nampak Zimbabwe, Nampak International and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe,” said Keith Nicholson, company secretary for Nampak Zimbabwe, is reported to have said.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation