THURSDAY, 11.30AM
A BOLD new plan to deal with Transnet’s huge pension fund deficit without bleeding taxpayers has been handed to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel for consideration, Business Day reports.
The report containing the proposals is the culmination of the work of a committee chaired by consultant Charles Stride which was appointed to propose solutions to the pension fund defecit problem which is the major stumbling block to Tranmsnet’s privatisation.
The committee’s key recommendation is that Transnet’s tax losses be used to address the deficit. The committee proposed that the buyers of Transnet divisions should pay a contribution to the pension fund instead of paying tax, a solution which will not affect the Budget.
Another important element of the committee’s report is that it valued the deficit at R12,5-billion, considerably below the R17-billion of earlier estimates, which alone is expected to cut the cost of addressing the shortfall by half. The report also recommends the unbundling of Transnet prior to seeking startegic euity partners for the subsidiaries.