Untransformed SAA is at the heart of Myeni’s woes
THE REVELATIONS by SAA chairwoman Dudu Myeni that 21 years into our democracy, her airline only spends 4 percent of its R24 billion procurement on black suppliers and that only about 60 of its pilots are black out of a total pilot complement of 800, have left me reeling with shock and dismay.
How on earth could something like this happen, right under the nose of the ANC government as the shareholder, defies all logic? Or maybe, the thinking in government has been to first stabilise the finances of the airline before shifting the transformation gear into a higher level.
Or perhaps the vested interests in SAA and in other state-owned companies’ supply chains remaining white are so entrenched that there is very little that boards can do. I don’t have an answer on this one. Your guess is as good as mine.
‘Low hanging’ fruit
On the face of it, state-owned companies present “low hanging” fruit for the ANC to fundamentally transform the content and outward look of the South African economy through the creation of a new black industrialist class and a thriving small, medium and micro-sized enterprises sector.
And the argument of Myeni in her SABC interview that she’s renegotiating the Airbus deal to take into account the issue of localisation makes sense.
South Africa cannot and should not perpetually procure from overseas-based suppliers without taking into account the interests of our local economy. That will not be spending our tax money wisely.
Localisation is in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) and the re-industrialisation policies of the government and state-owned companies, such as SAA, must take a lead in achieving the objectives of the NDP and in creating a new black industrialist class through procurement spend and other policy instruments.
The SAA narrative since the dawn of our democracy has been to completely privatise the airline and other state-owned companies. The liberal media and the DA have been pushing this agenda. And we all know who are waiting in the wings, with their cash-flushed bank accounts, to take ownership of South Africa’s strategic assets at the expense of transformation, job creation and other national imperatives.
Arguably the same dark forces that are behind the smear campaign against Myeni and the board, have been deliberately running down the airline to augment their privatisation business case that the government is not suited to run an airline. However, the state has stuck to its guns and must be congratulated for its stance – given the strategic nature of SAA to our nation.
It’s vividly clear to me: now that Myeni intends rattling the hornets’ nest, all types of snakes are emerging from the woodwork, making all sorts of accusations about her close relations to President Jacob Zuma, fake overseas bank accounts and even alleging that she’s at war with Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene.
Myeni may only be holding a teacher’s qualification, but she’s clearly no stooge and as a board member, she knows how to ask pertinent questions as per her fiduciary duties. Aviation is not rocket science
Now that Myeni intends rattling the hornets’ nest, all types of snakes are emerging from the woodwork, making all sorts of accusations.
and things that do not make business sense will not fly with any board, not just that of SAA. I guess the chief financial officer who has now been shown the door did not take this into account when he submitted misleading figures to the board.
The greatest challenge facing many boards in state-owned companies is trusting the bona fides of management information about the company’s state of affairs. This was the case at Eskom, which resulted in the suspension and eventual dismal of three executives, because management information was, allegedly, not a true reflection of the operations.
The fact that, by and large, technical expertise still resides within the predominantly white middle and senior management levels is not helping either when board members, in the main, are black. Unison in thought and action is nonexistent owing to the divergent political and ideological outlooks between the former and the latter.
Myeni’s case has been exacerbated by her close proximity to Zuma – the nemesis of the liberals and the media.
My advice to all parties:
let’s
for
a moment forget about whether Myeni has a red telephone in her office from the west wing of the Union Buildings, or whether or not her teacher’s qualifications make her suitable to chair SAA, and zoom into the issues that she is raising and assist her in driving transformation at SAA while at the same time sorting out its finances. It can be done!