High-flying boss appoints team to turn SAA around

Report by Sapa

Johannesburg – SA AIRWAYS has appointed a new team of executives to help it make a financial turnaround, the company’s head said yesterday amid allegations that he had used his position to fund a lavish lifestyle.

SAA chief executive and president Khaya Ngqula said the board had been appointed after months of thorough investigation “to help drive the company’s turnaround strategy”.

“This new organisational top structure is part of the process that we began last year when we realigned structures at SAA to increase efficiency and remove duplication,” Ngqula said.

The SAA company posted pre-tax loss of R8,7-billion in 2004. It has been reported that more than R10-billion had to be injected into SAA by its parent company, Transnet.

Ngqula’s announcement came on the same day that the Sunday Times here published a report headlined: “The high life of SAA’s big chief”.

The report claimed that between December and March, Ngqula made 15 trips by helicopter in Gauteng to meetings, all within driving distance of each other, at a cost of R350 000.

“The Sunday Times is in possession of invoices from the aviation company for two Bell helicopters used for more than 15 journeys undertaken by Ngqula over three months,” the report said.

After only eight months in the job Ngqula “has cost taxpayers more than R500 000 in helicopter trips, the chartering of an airplane for a 30-minute flight between France and England and exorbitant bills at London’s exclusive The Dorchester hotel,” the article said.

Ngqula’s perks at SAA included a BMW 745, a bodyguard and a personal chauffeur, the Sunday Times said.

The newspaper said that shortly after Ngqula’s appointment in October, the airline embarked on a massive cost-cutting programme that included slashing the coffee budget for staff at its head office in Kempton Park.

Ngqula did not comment on the claims. The SAA statement said, however, that cutting costs would be one of SAA’s main objectives. It said one of the key structures the organisation was based on was the “introduction of a culture of excellence with profit and cost control as the main objective.”

Ngqula’s appointments included Nomfanelo Magwentshu as general manager (business development) and Kyrl Acton as chief operations officer.

One of Magwentshu’s responsibilities will be overseeing SAA’s expansion into Africa. Acton has been tasked with driving commercial tasks, such as developing the company’s fleet of aeroplanes.

SAA chief financial officer Tryphosa Ramano had taken over the co-ordination of the company’s profit improvement programme. The company’s chief risk officer, Dan Moeti, had been tasked with setting up a risk management strategy for SAA.