Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has denied that Treasury wanted to use R100 billion of funds belonging to the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to bail out some state-owned enterprises (SOEs), such as the embattled SAA.
Treasury spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete reportedly told EWN that such allegations were malicious and unconstructive.
"We find these kinds of calls that have been alleged to come from the PIC CEO quite alarming and quite scary. National Treasury has never asked him to give resources to any ailing SOEs," Tshwete reportedly said.
Last week, media outlets reported that Treasury was pressuring the PIC to provide as much as R100-billion to fund struggling SOEs.
The PIC acts an asset manager, handling mostly the Government Employees' Pension Fund (GEPF).
It also invests on behalf of 23 other public bodies such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
The GEPF has more than 1.2-million active members, which is mostly made up of almost half-a-million pensioners and beneficiaries. Its asset base is reportedly worth more than R1.8-trillion.
Last week, PIC boss Dan Matjila was hauled before a special board meeting after allegations of financial impropriety emerged in the media.
But Matjila denied the allegations, saying he is being targeted by people who want to have him removed in a bid to take control of the PIC's extensive funds.