OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 10.30pm.
THE National Assembly passed the Conversion of Sasria Bill on Friday, effectively nationalising the South African Special Risks Insurance Association.
The bill, approved by all parties in Parliament except the Freedom Front, converts Sasria to a company wholly owned by government, and will allow the use of Sasria’s excess reserves of several billion rand to pay off state debt. Freedom Front MP Dr Willie Botha said Sasria’s reserves belong to the taxpayer, not the government.
Introducing the second reading debate on the bill in the National Assembly, Deputy Finance Minister Gill Marcus said government’s claim to the money is based on its being insurer of last resort to Sasria, and having given it unlimited cover. Sasria also paid no tax between its establishment in 1979 and 1996.
Marcus said that in terms of the new dispensation, Sasria’s obligations to its policyholders remain unchanged. She added that government is not in the insurance business, and Sasria will eventually be privatised. She said government will continue to underwrite Sasria’s insured risks, but on a capped basis.