Court told Myeni ‘blocked R1.5bn deal’

FORMER SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni allegedly blocked a R1.5 billion deal with Emirates Airlines in June 2015 in Paris, allegedly without any valid reasons.

This was the testimony, in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, of former SAA chief commercial director Sylvain Bosc, who is now vice-president of Qatar Airways, a position he took up after he apparently had strained relations with Myeni over the failed Emirates deal.

Bosc said Myeni cancelled two important meetings with the owners of Emirates Airlines and its chief executive Tim Clarke, that were to pave the way for the signing of the deal.

He said in May 2015 Myeni told him to tell the Emirates bosses, who attended the Arabian Travel Show in Dubai, that she was sick.

The court heard that she allegedly provided the same excuse when Clarke visited Cape Town during the same month.

He said these actions by Myeni led to the cancellation of the all-important deal in 2015 in Paris.

Bosc said SAA scored an own goal by failing to sign a memorandum of understanding with Emirates, which could have guaranteed SAA an annual minimum profit of R1.5bn.

He said he was standing with Nico Bezuidenhout when the former SAA boss allegedly received a call from Myeni instructing him not to sign the deal.

“Nico Bezuidenhout then later told me that Ms Dudu Myeni said the Presidency did not approve the signing of the deal,” Bosc said.

“About seven hours later, Ms Dudu Myeni phoned Nico Bezuidenhout. It was seven minutes before the official signing of the deal.

She was very upset. She told Nico that the president was very unhappy that he was contacted by officials of Emirates.

She later reiterated the instruction that the Presidency did not want the deal to be signed.”

Bosc will continue his testimony.