Myeni still has hands on SAA joystick

The South African government has reappointed Dudu Myeni, pictured, as the chairperson of South African Airways, the loss-making state-owned airline, it said yesterday.

The Cabinet said Myeni, an ally of President Jacob Zuma, was appointed alongside 11 others to the board of SAA. The team will meet Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan, who will provide direction from a shareholder perspective, it said.

On Thursday, a finance ministry source said officials in the department had opposed Myeni’s selection, but had managed to push through some preferred candidates to the new board.

SAA has been surviving on state-guaranteed loans and has failed to submit financial statements for the past two years, with results for 2015-2016 held back after Treasury refused to grant it R5 billion in additional guarantees.

Myeni’s reappointment comes two days after asset manager Futuregrowth said it had halted lending to state-owned firms over concerns of political interference in their administration.

In December, Zuma denied rumours that he had had an affair with Myeni or that their ties had led to the sacking of then-finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, who had rebuked Myeni for mismanaging a R1 billion deal with Airbus.

Critics say government plans to form a new committee to be supervised by Zuma that would oversee state-owned enterprises like SAA will limit Gordhan’s control over firms.

The rand has slid more than 8% against the dollar since August 23, also on renewed fears that Gordhan could be charged over the activities of a surveillance unit set up when he was head of the tax department, which police say spied on politicians. – Reuters