Business Unity South Africa (Busa) on Thursday welcomed the appointment of a new board of directors for South African Airways (SAA) as a step in the right direction to ensuring financial stability and good governance at the State-owned airline.
“The appointment of JB Magawaza, an accomplished businessperson, as chairperson, together with [the appointment of] a number of experienced business persons, will bring much needed capabilities to the board,” said Busa.
It stated that the eradication of wasteful and fruitless expenditure and curtailing losses at State-owned enterprises (SOEs) required urgent support and implementation.
“The recent bailouts of SAA by the National Treasury – in the absence of implementable, time-bound measures to address both governance and oversight shortcomings and structural options which can secure the long-term viability of the airline – have been an ongoing concern to business.
“South Africa, at this juncture, simply does not have the funds necessary to provide financial support to chronically underperforming SOEs and this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency, including in the case of SAA to prevent a contagion impact on the public and private sector. Business expects the new board to attend to these issues as a matter of urgency,” it added.