Corruption rife at SAA, says fired-up Myeni

Durban - SAA board chairwoman Dudu Myeni has come out guns blazing over calls for her resignation, claiming there is “institutionalised corruption” at the airline and attacks on her reputation are the result of her attempts to crack down on it.

Myeni told Parliament’s standing committee on finance yesterday that there were ghost employees on SAA’s books and a call centre in Florida, in the US, despite the airline not flying to this destination; revenue from ticket sales in Sao Paulo not being paid over; and inadequate monitoring of contracts for goods and services.

“Is there consequence when people do not do the right thing, when KPIs (key performance indicators) are not met?” Myeni asked in response to a question from MPs.

“You are doomed if you take any measure against anyone who does not perform; you are also doomed if you don’t.”

Read also: State will not recapitalise SAA, says Jonas

She claimed she was criticised for the number of senior managers in acting positions after an exodus on her watch, but “that is the reason some people are acting in positions, because people have been found doing wrong things”. She said if MPs spoke to her in private, “I will tell you who is eating at SAA”.

Referring to allegations that she sought to influence the awarding of tenders for the supply of jet fuel, following reports that she gave the name of one Sizwe Zuma to the airline’s chief procurement officer, Myeni said she had “never touched anything to do with procurement”.

Responding to EFF MP Floyd Shivambu, who had asked about the jet fuel allegations, Myeni challenged him to take the matter to court. She said people were trying to paint her transformation efforts as corruption.

She accused MPs of being in cahoots with vested interests who did not want disabled people and MK military veterans to benefit from government business.

Myeni also contradicted Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas, who had told the committee that while transformation was imperative, the first priority was to make SAA financially stable.

“My view... is that we still buy goods and services at SAA, even if the company is not stable. We are buying jet fuel for over R10 billion per annum,” Myeni said. “For 82 years, it’s only five companies that (have been) benefiting from that.”

She said if it was now government policy that politically exposed persons or family members of high-ranking politicians could not do business with the state, the committee should amend the Public Finance Management Act and give her a list of such people.

She also denied having met the Gupta family - the subjects of former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on state capture.

THE MERCURY