The failure of DPE Minister Pravin Gordhan’s last-minute attempt to avert the sale of Mango means the Business Rescue Practitioner, Sipho Sono, is free to go ahead and complete the deal.

Last Friday, according to local press reports, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Minister Gordhan’s late attempt to sink the sale.

“The decision to sell Mango was SAA’s in the first place. I’m relieved the Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed the application, which paves the way for us to rescue the airline unhindered,” Sono told moneyweb.co.za.

Gordhan had delayed the process on several occasions simply by his refusal to make a decision one way or another, but his runway ran out when he failed to make a decision on its disposal within the prescribed 30 days as stipulated in the PFMA, then lodged a late appeal. This did not cut the mustard at the Appeal Court, leaving the path clear for the sale agreement to be put into effect.

“Basically, there’s not much the Minister can do. The PFMA section 54(3) deeming provision [the 30-day window] kicked in and this was deemed to have approved the application…Even if he were to petition the Constitutional Court, it would be academic as courts cannot alter the operation of law. We will now move with speed to implement,” Sono revealed to moneyweb.co.za.

The buyer, Ubuntu Air Services, is a partnership between South African tour operator, AfricaStay, a specialist in Indian Ocean holidays, and DG Capital.