WITH a R1.25bn loss for the past year, less than enthusiastic support from the Treasury and an atmosphere of mistrust at the airline, South African Airways (SAA) CEO Siza Mzimela and two other senior managers have resigned.
Ms Mzimela ended weeks of speculation about her future on Monday when she e-mailed staff to say she was leaving SAA after almost three years.
"It is with a mix of sadness, relief and a measure of pride that I announce my resignation from the airline today," she wrote.
The Department of Public Enterprises accepted Ms Mzimela’s resignation, its spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said.
"This is not a crisis," he said, adding that the resignation was "very unfortunate".
Theunis Potgieter, SAA’s GM for corporate affairs and Sandra Coetzee, GM for legal, risk and compliance also resigned.
In an e-mailed response to questions Mr Potgieter said: "I can confirm that I have also resigned from SAA. I am not going into any details except to say I am in full support of the reasons as explained by Siza."
Ms Mzimela’s resignation comes barely two weeks after the resignation of most of the airline’s board, including its chairwoman Cheryl Carolus, who cited concern about a lack of support from the airline’s shareholder, the Department of Public Enterprises.
In her resignation letter Ms Mzimela refers to the strained relations between the airline and the department: "I owe a debt of gratitude to the outgoing board, of which I was a member, for their wise counsel and unwavering support. To that end, I understood and identified with the sentiments that some of them expressed towards the end of their mission."
Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba on Monday announced that newly appointed SAA chairman Vuyisile Kona was now executive chairman.
Mr Kona was previously the head of SAA’s subsidiaries and left in 2006 after reaching a legal settlement with the airline.
"He will be the executive chairman until we can find a permanent CEO," Mr Tshwete said.
Ms Mzimela would meet with Mr Kona over the next two weeks to allow "for a seamless handover process and continuity", SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said.
The new board had to be appointed before SAA’s annual general meeting next week. The board’s immediate focus would be to complete the airline’s new business plan to ensure it complied with the conditions attached to the Treasury’s recent R5bn guarantee for SAA, Mr Tlali said.
Two unnamed acting executives were appointed on Monday.
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