Myeni needs to confirm or deny Khartoum allegations that got Nene fired

24 January 2016

SAA is again under the spotlight. Mail and Guardian have uncovered correspondence that Dudu Myeni, the much maligned Chairwomen of SAA, proposed an unprofitable route to Khartoum, Sudan to please President Jacob Zuma and his close ally and Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir.

I will therefore write to the Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown, to investigate these allegations as well as Dudu Myeni’s performance since her appointment as chief of SAA. Pending the conclusion of these investigations, Myeni should be removed from her position. Added to this, the Minister should thoroughly probe all the airlines’ routes to ensure that only profitable ones remain. 

Myeni’s bizarre demands would have cost the already cash-strapped airline R30 million in its first two years of operation and was an apparent show of respect and support by President Zuma for the wanted fugitive, President Omar al-Bashir. President al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and the High Court in Pretoria had ordered his arrest on his arrival in SA. SA government defied this order and allowed him to leave.

To the country’s relief and despite Zuma’s nod, SAA’s Executive Committee, the Group Executive Committee and Finance Minister at the time, Minister Nene, did not approve the plan for this new route. This was the first step towards the ever-prudent Nene’s axing. When he defied Myeni’s further demand to restructure the Airbus deal it seems the writing was on the wall for Nene’s removal.

Myeni has consistently reaffirmed her unsavoury agenda and loyalty only to President Jacob Zuma. It is time for SAA to be led by a competent chairperson. The rife mal-administration at SAA is a cost taxpayers can no longer afford to pay for. 

Statement issued by Natasha Mazzone MP, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 24 January 2016