Molefhi defends purchase of Gripen war jets
Onalenna Kelebeile | Friday June 23, 2017 15:54
Addressing a Kgotla meeting in Botshabelo on Wednesday, Molefhi, also the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development, said the decision to purchase military aircraft may not make sense now, but it is crucial in the long term. He said no one knows what the outcome of instability in the region and neighbouring countries would be.
“You cannot build and train the army during the time of war and purchasing military equipment is complex and expensive. This is just to ensure that our military is battle ready for any eventuality,” he said. He added that military weapons are purchased internationally at the current market price that may not be favourable at the time they are needed.
Molefhi was responding to a question from a former BCL employee who wanted to know if it was possible for government to afford the acquisition of fighter jets at a cost of P15 billion while it could not afford only P3 billion to save BCL Mine. “What sense does this make at the expense of saving 6,000 jobs?” the former employee asked. Molefhi said the BCL situation came at a time when the purchase agreements for the fighter jets had long been concluded.
He had earlier on explained that the final decision on BCL took too long to be arrived at because the court hearing had to be postponed after some potential investors expressed interest. The MP stated that a final decision was passed by the High Court last week.
He explained that besides operating at a loss, the mine was also faced with a huge debt on its environment rehabilitation fund as well as the money owed to Norlisk Nickel for the purchase of Nkomati Mine in South Africa. He said any potential investor was expected to also inherit these debts. The mine debts are said to have been putting off potential investors.
Molefhi added that 300 employees have been retained for care and maintenance after the mine closure to minimise the expenses of maintenance of the mine of a buyer is secured. “Final liquidation is meant to make the purchase of the mine much simpler as it would minimise the cost on the buyer,” he said.
He added that creditors meeting would be held on a date to be set by the High Court where agreement would be made on how they (creditors) would be paid. The minister further explained that government is the one who applied for provisional liquidation and payment of employees’ benefits was not part of that because it could have compelled other creditors to also demand their dues. Instead government paid some benefits to employees.
“After the collapse of the Dubai deal, other potential investors expressed interest on the mine and were invited. Some want to buy piecemeals while others want the piecemeals, whole operation and Tati Nickel while others are interested in the smelter alone. Government seriously wants to secure a potential investor for the mine to bounce back into operation. No one is taking BCL situation lightly.”
He revealed that three companies have shown serious interest and government will see how it will share the cost with the potential buyer. He advised those who were due to be compensated by BCL before closure to liaise with the Labour office so that they can be registered and listed as creditors.
Molefhi said government for a long time has been the sole shareholder with the intention of saving jobs with the hope that an investor to partner with would come on board. “I cannot confirm when the mine would reopen but that would be determined by the conclusion of talks with potential investors.”
He added that government has come up with incentives for potential investors in this region and said SPEDU should now ensure that such investors are quickly assisted. He also noted that all barriers that had been a hindrance for investors to set up here would be addressed.