For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: Gordhan dismisses battle between SAA partners, insists deal is on track; DA threatens legal action if NHI Bill is passed; And, Petrol price set for hike, but diesel may be cut

Gordhan dismisses battle between SAA partners, insists deal is on track

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said the South African Airways deal with government's chosen partner, the Takatso consortium, "remained alive" and dismissed a major schism in the consortium as "argy-bargy".

Gidon Novick resigned from the consortium's board on Monday, citing concerns about its ability to raise the money needed for the deal. The former co-CEO of kulula.com and co-founder of LIFT, also represented Global Airways, an aviation leasing company which owns LIFT. They are the minority shareholders in Takatso, and were supposed to contribute aviation expertise to a "new" SAA. 

The investment fund Harith is the majority partner in the consortium and was responsible for raising money for the deal. Takatso is supposed to take a 51% stake in SAA. In return, they would invest R3-billion in the airline over two years.

DA threatens legal action if NHI Bill is passed

The Democratic Alliance said it will pursue legal action if the African National Congress government passes the National Health Insurance Bill.

DA said the NHI Bill is completely out of touch with reality as South Africa cannot afford to financially implement the NHI.

the party added that, to date, opposition parties are yet to see an up-to-date costing model or feasibility study that takes into account the damaging effects Covid-19 had on the country’s economy or the possible effects of the looming recession.

the DA explained that this decision was taken after deliberations in the Health Committee ended and the ANC did not accept any material changes to the Bill despite overwhelming opposition from the majority of opposition parties.

The DA says while it has championed universal healthcare, the NHI Bill, in its current form, will fall dismally short of achieving this objective.

And, Petrol price set for hike, but diesel may be cut

According to the latest information from the Central Energy Fund, petrol prices may be hiked in the first week of December, ahead of South Africa's peak travel season. However, diesel could ease from record high levels.

The fuel prices are usually adjusted on the first Wednesday of a month and determined by the price of oil and the rand-dollar exchange rate. 

The data shows that 95 unleaded petrol could be increased by around R1.10 a litre in December, with 93 petrol due for a 97c hike.

But diesel may be cut from record-high levels, and currently looks set for a decrease of between 27c and 35c.

Oil prices have been volatile in recent weeks. Demand has been bolstered by easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in China and a cut in production among oil producers. However, the oil price is trading at its lowest level in three weeks amid concerns about the US economic outlook.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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