Give Hogan revelation wings

FORMER public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan’s revelation at the state capture inquiry on how SAA lost the lucrative route to Mumbai will be difficult to digest for the majority of South Africans.

The national carrier is in crisis and bailouts of almost R20billion in the past few years have not stemmed the debt, with banks refusing to lend SAA more money despite Treasury guarantees.

Hogan has provided some insight on how SAA parted ways with the Johannesburg-to-Mumbai route and allowed Indian airline Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways to take over the bilateral arrangement between the two countries.

Hogan maintains that she stood in the way of any such deal – until she was fired. In 2015, the national carrier lost the route, described by Hogan as “one of the least loss-making routes” operated by the airline.

“SAA had specifically opened up that route to service a rapidly growing business and tourist relationship between South Africa and India.”

Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor told the inquiry that Ajay Gupta allegedly offered her Hogan’s job if she facilitated the handover of the Mumbai route. Follow-up is needed.

Those who allowed one of the routes that had the potential to make a profit to be relinquished must provide reasons on why this was done.