Documents lodged in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) last week indicate that a service provider has applied for Airports Company SA’s (Acsa) liquidation for failing to pay the contracted service provider monies owed for services rendered.

A report in The Star notes Acsa is also accused of publishing ‘fake’ financial reports after the company posted profits but failed to mention its debt running into the hundreds of millions of rands dating back several years.

The court documents also indicate that Acsa owes a service provider which performed services at OR Tambo International Airport and has failed to make adequate payment – despite commitments to do so. 

Service providers have been experiencing significant challenges in getting Acsa to pay invoices, resulting in them facing significant cash flow problems which results in the airports being placed at risk.

Acsa CEO Mpumi Mpofu recently shared that the company posted a R472m after-tax profit for the financial year 2023/2024.

Service providers have allegedly engaged Mpofu and the Acsa board since 2021 to no avail. Among the companies baying for blood are Bidvest Protea Coin Security, Fidelity Security, Eagle Eye Security, G4S Aviation, Mafoko Security and Venue Security.

However, Mpofu denied that Acsa is deliberately not paying some of its suppliers, saying the entity always pays its invoices within the legislated 30-day provision and sometimes sooner.

‘Acsa has a duty to ensure that it protects itself from paying disputed invoices. Some of the invoices are under arbitration and we will not be bullied into paying invoices that are disputed. We have nine airports across the country. We are working around the clock to pull out the details of some of the transactions you are alluding to,’ Mpofu said.

Full report in The Star