Four SA Airways board members quit

our non-executive members of the SA Airways (SAA) board have resigned, the department of public enterprises said on Friday.

In a statement, the department said Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown on Wednesday notified members of the SAA board of a special general meeting to be held on October 23.

Among the items on the agenda was the removal of non-executive members of the board.

It said she was acting in her formal capacity as the designated representative of the sole shareholder of the airline, the South African government.

Subsequently, four non-executive directors submitted their formal resignations to Brown by Friday morning.

"It is a pity that some board members have chosen this path. The meeting is intended to give them the opportunity to respond on the record," Brown said.

"I am limiting my comments on the matter of board membership to that at the moment in the interest of fairness to those who do choose to attend the meeting."

She said in general that she and the minister of finance (Nhlanhla Nene) were leading an inter-ministerial task team, which included directors general, focusing on the future of the airline.

"SAA has been making losses over a number of years and any intervention arising from our work will be aimed at getting the company to live off its balance sheet as soon as possible," she said.

The department said, by 2pm on Friday, no other resignations had been received.