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Minister Says Government Is Committed to Rebuilding Arms Maker Denel

South African arms maker Denel may soon experience a revival if a statement by a serving minister is anything to go by.

South Africa’s public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan recently noted that the South African government was committed to rebuilding the state-owned corporation which was recently delisted from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Denel is seriously in debt, and because it failed to submit annual financial statements on time and has also defaulted on paying interest on two notes, it was delisted from the JSE.

Previously Denel’s debt stood at R3 billion. But the government was able to reduce it to R290 million in the past two years. The recovery isn’t complete for the state-owned corporation, however.

By the way, Denel is also a subject of a national investigation now known as the state capture commission, headed by Justice Zondo.

The commission recently revealed that former Denel CEO Riaz Salooje was pressured into going into a business deal with VR Laser, a company owned by the Gupta brothers. The deal, according to the commission was nothing more than an attempt by the Guptas to capture the state-owned company.

Well, with public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan recently stating that the government is committed to reviving the company, maybe something good can come out of it.

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