SAA is not desperate for a new equity partner and is working on a plan to stabilise its finances, interim group CEO John Lamola says.
In March, an equity deal with Takatso consortium aimed at reviving the airline collapsed with the company and the department of public enterprise unable to reach an agreement on a new valuation.
They argued the post-Covid market valuation of the national carrier exceeded Takatso’s original R3bn offer. Negotiations on the new valuation led to the parties deciding to part ways.
In an interview with Business Day, Lamola said there was no “desperation” for a new equity partner because the airline “will not collapse”.
“Any new investor in the business would really need to expand SAA into another dimension. Currently we are working on an SAA that is resized and we have a plan that we can execute,” Lamola said.
“The previous glory of SAA was artificial because it was funded by taxpayers’ money. The SAA we are building is one that can generate its own revenues and cover its own operational costs.”
In responses to parliamentary questions from DA MP Farhat Essack, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan said the state airline had received a total of R33.1bn in transfers from the state over the past five years and the government would not be expected to inject capital into SAA for operations.
The airline has been led by an interim executive management team since 2022 after it exited business rescue in 2021. SAA said the new appointments were a bid to stabilise the airline. The airline recommenced operations in September 2021.
In April it opened applications for a CEO, COO, chief human capital officer, SAA Technical CEO and Air Chefs CEO. It will consider external and internal applications.
“With the collapse of the Takatso consortium (deal), it created a crisis for me and my executive team because we were told that is the plan that we must execute,” Lamola said.
“I for one was already working on my exit but there have been a number of requests that I must consider staying for the sake of ensuring that the intermediary and the business plan will be implemented within the coming two to three years.
“I have been interim CEO since April last year. The expectation was that there was going to be a business plan and strategy and the people that would execute that business strategy. There is a fear that if we get a new CEO too soon there might be a disruption in that we need a new business plan that needs to be implemented.”
The failed Takatso-SAA transaction was scrutinised by parliament and opposition parties. In March, parliament’s public enterprise committee requested former speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to refer the Takatso consortium’s purchase of a 51% stake in SAA to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for further investigation “to ensure accountability and transparency”.
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