Cape Town - Skills shortages at South African Airways Technical (SAAT) are the direct result of the government's policy of affirmative action, according to the white rightwing Freedom Front Plus.
Pieter Groenwald, the party spokesperson on public enterprises, said on Monday that these shortages are creating a danger to passengers in that technical expertise is being lost and standards for the repair of aircraft are being lowered.
He said that the American Federal Aviation Association (FAA) and the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) recommended in April of this year that the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) should be downgraded from a category 1 to a category 2.
"That would have meant that there would be limited international recognition for South African pilot licences and aviation proficiency certificates," Groenewald said. "This would have led to the SAA not being able to deploy its routes in America."
Groenewald said the new executive head of the SACAA, Colin Jordaan, has confirmed this. "It was Jordaan who had convinced the inspectors from the FAA and ICAA to give the SACAA an extension," he said. "The reason for the FAA and ICAA's actions was the lowering of the technical standards of SAA Technical."
Groenewald insists that the skills shortages at SAA Technical (SAAT) are the direct result of the government's policy of affirmative action.
Technical expertise is being lost and standards for the repair of aircraft are being lowered, he said.
The requirement that SAAT has to have 19 inspectors in its service but only has three, is a serious charge against the government and attests to incompetence. "That means that there is an accident waiting to happen", Groenewald said
"The Freedom Front Plus had already in April of this year warned the government and requested it to take action. At the time we said that the shortage of expertise in the aviation industry has the potential to force the SAA to a standstill.
"Airlines have to adhere to international standards, and excuses by local officials will not be accepted. To lose 300 workers in two years proves the incompetence of management to take action."
He urged Minister for Public Enterprises Alec Erwin and Transport Minister Jeff Radebe to intervene immediately, "otherwise we will be confronted with a catastrophe which will cost many lives".
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