Zuma stands firm on keeping Myeni as SAA chair

Cape Town – President Jacob Zuma reiterated on Tuesday that the reappointment of SAA chair Dudu Myeni was “approved by cabinet, which had considered all the relevant options”.
 
He was responding to a question from the DA, posed to him in the National Council of Provinces, about the reasons for Myeni’s staying on as chairperson for another year, since National Treasury had purportedly not supported her reappointment to the position.

Read:  Zuma defends SAA chairperson Dudu Myeni

Under Myeni’s watch, SAA made a R5.6bn loss in the 2014/15 financial year and the national carrier saw an exodus of a substantial number of executives, who had either resigned, or had been forced to resign, following suspensions.
 
Zuma said on Tuesday that SAA is being assisted by National Treasury to stabilise its financial position.

“Government is optimistic that the new board will achieve the turnaround that the company needs.”
 
On a follow-up question about whether selling the entire national carrier to the private sector, Zuma said: “I’m not looking at selling SAA. It must come back, be viable and work”.
 
He added that SAA has been in trouble “all the time – not only today”. “If the Honourable Member pays attention he would remember that at one stage we imported an American to turn SAA around,” Zuma said referring to Coleman Andrews who had been CEO from May 1998 until April 2001.

During his tenure Andrews earned a remuneration package of more than R220m.