Transport minister dumps Dudu Myeni

Former South African Airways (SAA) board chairperson Dudu Myeni reached her final destination after Transport Minister Blade Nzimande dumped her from his office.

This was revealed in a Parliamentary reply by Nzimande to a question by DA MP Derrick America.

He asked if Nzimande intends to retain Myeni in his office - to which the minister gave an emphatic no.

“No‚ the minister does not intend to retain Ms Myeni in his office. The former Minister Joe Maswanganyi intended to appoint her as his special adviser reporting directly to him‚” he said in the report.

The appointment was not finalised‚ because the Transport Department requested information to verify her academic qualifications which was “never submitted until the former Minister was removed. The removal of the former Minister meant that the process could not be finalised as the terms of office would have been linked”.

The Sunday Times reported last year that Myeni‚ an ally of former president Jacob Zuma‚ would have earned more than R1-million per year as Maswanganyi’s special adviser.

“I needed someone with aviation experience... I appointed her as one of my advisers because as a minister I am allowed to appoint a maximum of three advisers without advertising the posts‚” Maswanganyi said in December‚ according to the Sunday Times report.

Myeni’s controversial nine-year tenure at the SAA came to end in October last year.

According to the Sunday Times report‚ Myeni would have yielded influence through her advice to the Maswanganyi‚ but would not have had direct contact with SAA.

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