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The Democratic Alliance (DA) will call for South African Airways (SAA) to be privatised following yet another request from the state-owned airline for a bailout from National Treasury.

If yesterday’s request for a bailout of between R4-6 billion is granted, the total public funds spent propping up this state owned enterprise since 2007 will come to R11.6 billion.

We cannot continue using public money on SAA when so many of our people are without clean drinking water, basic sanitation and housing.

I will be writing to the Presidential State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Review Committee to request that the viability of SAA is put on the agenda as a matter of urgency. I will use that opportunity to make the case that it is in our national interest to privatise the airline.

Simply throwing money at failing SOEs will not resolve ingrained structural problems. It is time that this lesson was learned once and for all.

SAA already received a preferential R1.3 billion loan from government last year and a R1.6 billion cash guarantee. Looking back at the period since 2007/2008, SAA and South African Express Airways (SAEA) jointly received another R2.7 billion.

This massive drain on the public purse can be avoided by privatising the activities of SAA and SAEA. Not only that, it will provide a cash injection to help pay off our growing stock of debt – which currently stands at R1.1 trillion.

The privatisation of SAA is surely an idea whose time has come.