South Africa’s biggest political party will ask the National Treasury to consider a one-off debt-relief package for state-owned rail and ports operator Transnet before next month’s budget.
Transnet requires a similar package to one given to power utility Eskom Holdings in 2023, Zuko Godlimpi, deputy head of the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) economic transformation committee, told reporters on the sidelines of a policy-strategy meeting on Sunday. The Treasury granted Eskom a R254-billion debt-relief package two years ago.
“We need something massive for Transnet, once off, and it is quite vital because the survival of Transnet and its efficient operation is critical for the South African steel industry, the mining industry and the manufacturing industry,” Godlimpi said. “We don’t have the option not to rescue Transnet.”
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, who is also a member of the economic transformation committee, will deliver his annual budget statement on Feb. 19. He’s previously
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