SAA chairperson Dudu Myeni
Embattled chairperson of South African Airways (SAA) Dudu Myeni has assured South Africans that the national carrier is in good hands, expressing confidence in the new board that was announced last week to work alongside her.
"I want to assure you that this airline is in the right hands: I have observed the new board, it's people with good skills, people who are highly competent and with experience, people who will arrive here and take time to familiarise themselves with the aviation space," Myeni told journalists and a group of concerned citizens.
Earlier the SAA chair held a closed meeting with several leaders including Black First Land First leader Andile Mngxitama, Progressive Professionals Forum president Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi and National Association of Manufacturers in Electronic Components' Adil Nchabeleng.
The group wanted to address concerns it had over the running of the state-owned enterprise, claiming media reports of goings-on at SAA were concerning.
In an open session, where journalists were not allowed to pose questions to Myeni, they discussed issues of the financial well-being of SAA, corruption and transformation.
Myeni said her board inherited a company that did not have a healthy balance sheet but added that steps were being taken to "remedy the situation".
Incompetence a 'myth'
"The turnaround strategy is that we look at why we are in financial turmoil, commissioned forensic investigation into financial losses, looked at every part of the business to understand what happened in our outstations in Brazil and in the UK," she said.
Myeni also spent a considerable amount of time defending her role as chair of the board and hit out at those who have criticised her performance.
"What I want to give you assurance of is that we found the airline in dire straits: There were people who were aviation experts who were here before us. There is also a myth that this chairperson is incompetent but I am yet to find the yard stick they are using to access my competence.
“I am incompetent because R24-billion must benefit black South Africans, I am also incompetent because I have seen the reason why the airline was losing money," she said.
Myeni compared the way the airline was being portrayed as an "alcoholic" always seeking bailouts, but that was not the truth, she said.
"All you hear is that the company needs bailouts, always knocking, going to National Treasury for bailouts. What you don't know is that bailouts are not in cash. We get a paper which is a government guarantee; we service those loans, ourselves [we] never received a cash injection from government."