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1Time will host a press briefing today to provide clarity on the liquidation and other issues. Photo: Matthew Jordaan.
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1Time had not yet appointed a liquidator and was involved in various options to resolve its financial troubles, company spokeswoman Refilwe Masemola said yesterday.
Despite all the announcements made at the weekend, she said: “I cannot say much as we still in limbo. But we have not appointed liquidators.”
She said this amid confusing reports over the company’s liquidation status.
1Time chief executive Blacky Komani was reported yesterday as saying the company had not applied for liquidation, this despite numerous statements from the airline stating that it had applied for liquidation.
1Time yesterday told shareholders that its application for the suspension of its shares had been approved by the JSE following Friday’s announcement that it was applying for liquidation.
In a Stock Exchange News Service (Sens) announcement on Friday, the airline said: “It is with regret that the board of directors of 1Time hereby advises shareholders that the company’s main trading company and subsidiary has filed for liquidation.”
The mixed messages from 1Time also amazed the National Consumer Commission as it had planned to investigate the airline over whether it had misled customers by selling tickets a few hours before it suspended its operations.
Acting commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed said he was confused by statements made by the airline. “We were going to investigate the airline in terms of section 65 of the Consumer Protection Act which states that suppliers must not take monies paid in advance as their own. In this instance 1Time’s customers paid in advance for their tickets.”
Masemola was reported as saying “any money that was paid in cash is considered belonging to the company. That is the money that was physically left with the company when it went into liquidation.”
Mohamed said this was exactly what the commission was going to investigate, however, things changed after the company refuted statements about its liquidation.
“I was under the impression that the airline had applied for liquidation, however, I have become aware that it had just suspended their services. This completely changes the situation and we are still considering our options,” he said.
Masemola said the airline would hold a press briefing this morning to provide clarity and to answer questions about what was going to happen to customers who used cash to pay for their tickets.
“The briefing will answer all the questions about the company’s future,” she said.
The airline was not only causing confusion, but it had landed itself in hot water with the JSE on Friday for allegedly making an announcement about the liquidation status to the public before putting it out in a Sens statement. The stock exchange would investigate all the events leading to the announcement. It would look at the times of when the public was made aware of this and when the company had put out a statement