South Africa is using diplomatic channels to try to recover more than R900m that Zimbabwe owes South African Airways (SAA). Parliament heard this week that there is no clear timeline for repayment.
Officials from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday that the department has been facilitating talks between ministers through the two countries’ Bi-National Commission. The talks aim to get Zimbabwe to release money owed to South African companies, including the state-owned airline.
MPs asked for exact figures on what foreign governments owe South Africa and how they plan to repay it. Neither was disclosed in the open session, and the committee continued the discussion behind closed doors.
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| SAA ticket revenue owed by Zimbabwe (Auditor-General) | More than R900m |
| Zimbabwe’s proposed repayment rate | $1m (about R16.5m) a quarter |
| Airline funds blocked in Zimbabwe, all carriers (Oct 2025) | $67m (about R1.1bn) |
| Airline funds blocked globally (Oct 2025) | $1.2bn (about R19.8bn) |
| South Africa–Zimbabwe trade (2025) | About R81bn |
The debt relates to ticket sales on SAA’s routes to Harare and Victoria Falls, and has built up since 2020 as Zimbabwe struggled with liquidity shortages. In April, the Auditor-General’s office told Parliament that Zimbabwe owed SAA more than R900m and that unpaid amounts from foreign countries were weighing on the airline’s long-term sustainability. SAA is owed about R1.4bn across all countries.
Zimbabwe previously offered to repay $1m (about R16.5m) a quarter, a schedule that would have taken more than 16 years to clear the debt. SAA rejected the offer in 2024. In 2024, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy told Parliament that the government would consider diplomatic efforts to recover the money. Former SAA chief financial officer Lindsay Olitzski, who retired in March, said no payments had been received by then.
The problem goes beyond SAA. According to the International Air Transport Association, airlines had $67m (about R1.1bn) blocked in Zimbabwe at the end of October 2025, the seventh-highest amount of any country. Globally, governments held back $1.2bn (about R19.8bn) in airline revenue, 93% of it in Africa and the Middle East.
DIRCO chief director Nyameka Goso told MPs that Minister Ronald Lamola had written letters and arranged ministerial meetings to secure repayment agreements. She said it is hard to make other countries fully carry out agreed decisions, and that political changes in those countries often stall implementation. DIRCO also said it is struggling to recover toll fees collected at the Beitbridge border post, and that South African mining companies face difficulties getting their money out of other countries.
Committee chairperson Mmusi Maimane expressed doubt that the money would be recovered and asked whether the department could impose penalties. He also questioned South Africa’s close relations with governments that he said do not uphold constitutional democracy. DIRCO said its role is limited to facilitation, that it acts on direction from the departments concerned, and that further steps are a decision for political principals.
The debt sits against a lopsided trade relationship. Trade between the two countries reached about R81bn in 2025. President Cyril Ramaphosa has said South Africa sells roughly eight rand of goods to Zimbabwe for every rand it buys. The fourth session of the Bi-National Commission, held in Pretoria in August, produced six agreements, none of which covered outstanding debts.