SAA board and managers put on notice to implement turnaround strategy

The ministry of public enterprises has put the SA Airways board of directors and management on notice to identify and implement immediate interventions at the cash-strapped airline.

The ministry said bad decisions had been made by previous boards and management‚ which included allowing corruption to incapacitate the airline.

The immediate priority was to stabilise SAA financially and through a rigorous process of cost-reduction and commercial re-orientation‚ and turn it into an airline that was financially and operationally sustainable‚ the ministry’s spokesperson Adrian Lackay said in a statement.

The ministry said the recent appropriation of R5bn in the medium-term budget policy statement was a further expression of this intent.

It said the cash injection provided a degree of immediate financial stability while the airline’s board and management proceeded with the task of restoring the airline financially and operationally.

“It is imperative that the executive management apply its mind with clear focus to the immediate task at hand‚ including addressing the airline’s cost base‚ stopping all fraudulent contracts‚ disciplining and instituting appropriate civil and criminal actions against all persons inside and outside the business who are implicated in corruption‚ and preparing SAA for a strategic equity partner in the near future.”