The Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr Malusi Gigaba today received from the South African Airways (SAA) Board, a long-term Turn-Around Strategy for the state owned national airline. The Minister has expressed his appreciation to the Board in meeting the agreed deadline of end of March 2013 for delivering on the strategy.
The long-term strategy aims at addressing operational and financial challenges faced by the national carrier. Furthermore it seeks to ensure that the state-owned national carrier is financially viable and even a profitable airline.
Minister Gigaba received the strategy after he appointed a task team to develop the long term strategy following the realisation that any further government support to SAA cannot continue, without being informed by a long term strategy. The task team included senior executives from SAA, SA Express and Mango and Senior Public Enterprises Officials.
The strategy is to be reviewed by the shareholder and various stakeholders will be engaged on the contents thereof. The long term strategy once approved will be implemented as a matter of urgency.
As the shareholder representative, Minister Gigaba has required that the staff, management and the Board all be hands on to ensure that the Strategy is implemented and monitored. Minister Gigaba has cautioned that given SAA past inability to implement strategies, the same situation would not occur this time around.
The strategy looks into the mitigating measures to be put in place to ensure the biggest inputs costs for SAA such as rising fuel prices don’t impact negatively on the balance sheet, and that any recapitalisation programme will sustain the airline both in the short term to long term.
For media enquiries:
Mayihlome Tshwete, Minister Gigaba’s spokesperson
Cell: 072 869 2477
