South Africa P.I.G.: SAA

Showing posts with label SAA. Show all posts

Fat-cat parastatal bosses come and go, but they get the cream

Seven of the top-10-earning executives at SA's parastatals have either left or are leaving. And a number of them left under a cloud. Moreover, eight of the top-paid heads of parastatals would have ranked among SA's 150 biggest earners in private companies. <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547320646424532418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9HPqtBDJ54Ow53tM-ev4HUYvI47-xmukVm7r5sRWXwGBxGKRwsD8vW2uAzzTVebJ1Wku4bmU8C1sFeF4M3zaJJOg4D_Q_2mi1UeGdUXg5Cg2ORWd02d9Mb8nAiXP6q2hOLoNaW5OItjm/s400/corruption-theft.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 360px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 305px; CURSOR: hand" />Research into parastatal pay, carried out by Who Owns Whom, is done on a selected number of parastatals, so it does not capture the pay of all directors of state-owned entities. Pay at entities such as Eskom, SAA, Denel, and the SABC should be seen in the context of regular news about failure, controversy and financial bail-outs. Khaya Ngqula, the former head of SAA, tops the rankings, having earned R13.7-million in 2009. This included his controversial R9.35-million "termination benefit" - the amount he was paid to go away. Behind was Geoffrey Qhena of the Industrial Development Corporation, one of the few who still has his job. Qhena earned R10.3-million last year. This included a performance bonus of almost R7-million. The IDC and Transnet were among the biggest payers, with numerous directors earning big packages. Jacob Maroga, who ranked 10th, was sacked from Eskom in late 2009 with no official golden handshake, but R9-million in previously awarded shares will be transferred to him through 2010 and up to March 2011. Universally acknowledged to have managed Eskom poorly, Maroga enjoyed a salary of more than R5-million in 2009. The court has since reserved judgment in his subsequent bid for a payout for unlawful dismissal. Maroga is suing for benefits he would have accrued into 2011 - to a total of R85-million. Eskom CEO Brian Dames faces a huge task if he is to alter the organisation's trajectory and justify the recent rate hikes and requests for funding, but the pain will be eased by his own hefty pay packet: a salary of R3.3-million, a short-term bonus of R1.22-million, another of R946000 and a payment of R230000, listed as "other". Over at poorly performing Telkom, CEO Reuben September, who has since left, pulled in a performance bonus of R1.84-million, with other benefits of R7.43-million on top of a salary of R3.6-million to rake in a total income of R12.8-million (down from a hefty R19.1-million the year before). In October 2009 new SAA board chairman Cheryl Carolus famously took action against Ngqula (the new SAA board apparently paid R20-million for a forensic report) for cash spent outside of his financial mandate that needed to be paid back, announcing a suit against Ngqula for R30.8-million, with further thinking required on how to recoup R141-million in misspent sponsorship money. SAA paid bonuses of R60.7-million to 153 managers over three years, at an average of R400000 per employee, as part of a retention scheme that Ngqula introduced. The pending court action will eat up yet more taxpayers' money. Similarly, Dali Mpofu was paid R12-million when he left the SABC, even though the broadcaster was R800-million in the red at the time. Siyabonga Gama, the CEO of Transnet freight rail, was dismissed for breach of governance requirements in respect of two procurement contracts before he could lead the running in the race to fill the position of Transnet CEO. The position has been vacant for over a year since Maria Ramos stepped down. Gama's pay for his last year was more than R4-million. Executive directors and senior managers at three parastatals - Transnet, Eskom and the IDC - were paid an average salary of R3.7-million per year for the past three financial years to the end of March. Eskom posted the worst performance of the three, but its directors were the most highly paid. In all, Transnet's three-year wage bill amounted to R245.6-million for 23 directors and senior managers, while Eskom was estimated to have paid R139-million in the same period, an average annual remuneration of R5.8-million for eight directors and senior managers. The IDC paid its 20 directors (including those at subsidiary Foskor) and senior managers R170.6-million over the three years, at an average of R2.8-million each.

Fat-cat parastatal bosses come and go, but they get the cream

Seven of the top-10-earning executives at SA's parastatals have either left or are leaving. And a number of them left under a cloud. Mor...

12:37 PM

SAA sucks - 79% People Agree

A consumer survey on airlines shows that Kulula and South African Airways (SAA) are the most used brands but the majority of respondents (62 percent) say that British Airways (BA) is the airline they would be happiest to fly. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cPZGqQ4c1Kw_1gE2dmCp6CK8DdyO_sXVpn22R2ySioo1j7A1dqWou6LyjMwpsQOyeNoYYulzETse4E8S7EQ8phtuA_mKkjSNazJAFXSOQKTZI66mYaA6mDfiwD1b3GL9ppnk8liaTukY/s1600/you_suck.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453827490907949954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cPZGqQ4c1Kw_1gE2dmCp6CK8DdyO_sXVpn22R2ySioo1j7A1dqWou6LyjMwpsQOyeNoYYulzETse4E8S7EQ8phtuA_mKkjSNazJAFXSOQKTZI66mYaA6mDfiwD1b3GL9ppnk8liaTukY/s400/you_suck.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The survey was conducted by Interact RDT (Research Design Training) among local consumers on their experiences and perceptions of the domestic airline market. Of the 93 percent of respondents who have flown domestically, a combined 70 percent fly SAA and Kulula (each carry 35 percent of respondents). The reason for these two brands' dominance is directly related to the availability of Voyager Miles for SAA and the low cost of fares on Kulula. The least used is BA with only five percent of the sample flying them, followed by 1Time and Mango with 12 percent and 13 percent respectively. The cost of a ticket on BA is the reason for its relatively small piece of the pie. Least favourable experience <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxT9ywgiA7rzJYF91YNVORkC8atv7M7gdU42ARGa8zMndYFeDvL3uDAEfnyqUND4u74WiwKVwJnrrLF-IIN4a16OX_MqemQlkTMINygIqOj4RE52NI7Is66DzA63tRIVIUy7VZphNJFRCi/s1600/saasucks.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453824105290211666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxT9ywgiA7rzJYF91YNVORkC8atv7M7gdU42ARGa8zMndYFeDvL3uDAEfnyqUND4u74WiwKVwJnrrLF-IIN4a16OX_MqemQlkTMINygIqOj4RE52NI7Is66DzA63tRIVIUy7VZphNJFRCi/s400/saasucks.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 171px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 76px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>On assessing actual experiences on the various airlines, SAA is ranked as offering the least favourable experience with its booking and check-in processes and attitude of flight crew pulling down its rankings. The online survey conducted in mid-March asked respondents to rank their most used airline only on seven categories of service; booking process, check-in process, flight punctuality, food served, attitude of flight crew, flight comfort and overall experience. On average all airlines' booking and check-in processes were highly rated with BA just taking the lead. They also lead on flight punctuality; a category where Kulula lags way behind its competitors. The category in which Kulula leads the pack is the attitude of flight crew. Across all categories, 1Time and Mango are reported as offering a middle-of-the-road service. When asked why respondents chose to not use a particular brand, a lack of trust was near the top of the list of reasons why 1Time is not an option. The same was not true for Mango which is reportedly not picked because respondent claim never to have had the opportunity to do so. SAA perceived as expensive "It's interesting to note the power of a loyalty programme. Although SAA is so well used, it doesn't appear to be all that well liked," says Gary Greenfield, managing director of Interact RDT. "We also assessed consumer's perceptions about the various local airline brands and SAA is perceived as being relatively expensive, which indicates that people are using their 'free' Voyager miles to travel locally." In terms of consumer perceptions, BA is considered to be the most expensive while Mango the least. However BA is perceived to be the most reliable (38 percent) and comfortable (48 percent). When asked which airline would potentially give consumers the most hassles, SAA was the brand named most by 21 percent of respondents. When asked which airline respondents would be happy to fly with, BA ranked highest with 62 percent of the vote followed by SAA (56 percent), Kulula (44 percent), Mango (25 percent) and 1Time (23 percent). These results correlate almost directly to the power of the grapevine; with respondents saying that they had heard good things about each airline as follows; BA 50 percent, Kulula 28 percent, SAA 25 percent, Mango 12 percent and 1Time 11 percent. "Regardless of whether the perceptions given by our respondents represent the true facts is immaterial," says Greenfield. "In the competitive world of consumer buying activity, perception is reality. So, if the local airlines are concerned about our consumer panel response, we suggest they look very carefully at what has created these opinions and what will change them." Source - iafrica.com See - <a href="http://www.saasucks.com/">www.saasucks.com/</a> - <a href="http://amplicate.com/sucks/saa">http://amplicate.com/sucks/saa</a>

SAA sucks - 79% People Agree

A consumer survey on airlines shows that Kulula and South African Airways (SAA) are the most used brands but the majority of respondents (62...

3:26 PM

Fat cats pocket R262 million of Tax Payer money for FAILING!!!

Payouts to "failed" departing chief executives of South Africa's parastatals have cost the South African public at least R262.1 million over the last decade, a Democratic Alliance MP said on Tuesday. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKOeC109PSuN_THS0XYmd-AlVX4znMvZ3r1bYFuaCxEM2FIueL9FOmvRrP-fx0aC6cbe_jwhf7W5Daub8VrqBJMijIHI5CMSp4tWKhIX1kAjBLMk6AFWNsqtd5A7RyeSiwwGseoq7tAj_/s1600-h/fat_cat01.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yMZ4ei7eOwuQV5362hHDMRb2Xjhxa9Xto-yIwwhx7yI_-oyroImfHM3Fj7TxFtoYZtMIHDJAnkJHVOBgwNiArtUivwyNwVmfTe27CDz2SjU91abCD7FKKMm3hOtGCMP7gaU_TZQw0jr0/s1600-h/zuma-gravy.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432009704403560050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yMZ4ei7eOwuQV5362hHDMRb2Xjhxa9Xto-yIwwhx7yI_-oyroImfHM3Fj7TxFtoYZtMIHDJAnkJHVOBgwNiArtUivwyNwVmfTe27CDz2SjU91abCD7FKKMm3hOtGCMP7gaU_TZQw0jr0/s400/zuma-gravy.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" /></a>Pieter van Dalen said the cost of the payouts would jump to R347 million if former Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga was successful in a lawsuit against the parastatal. "If paid out, Jacob Maroga's R85 million claim would be just the latest in a series of staggering salary payouts to unsuccessful executives," Van Dalen said. "Since 2001, at least R262.1 million has been awarded to parastatal bosses for their part in running their respective parastatals to the ground." These payouts include an R8 million settlement received by former SA Airways (SAA) chief executive Khaya Ngqula, after he was fired for his role in a R1 billion tender rigging saga in 2009. Before Ngqula, SAA paid CEO Andre Viljoen R3.6 million on top of a salary of R2.2 million and a performance bonus of almost R1 million. During Viljoen's last two years at the helm of SAA, the company made losses of R15 billion. In 2001, former SAA CEO Coleman Andrews received a golden handshake of R232 million, even though the airline posted a net loss of more than R700 million for that year. In 2009 the SABC paid R11 million to its former group CEO Dali Mpofu. Mpofu took the SABC to court after he was suspended for suspending then head of news and current affairs Snuki Zikalala. Former Denel chief executive Victor Moche, who was fired from his position by then public enterprises minister Alec Erwin, walked away from the parastatal with a golden handshake of about R3 million in 2005. Land Bank CEO Alan Mukoki received R4.5 million after he quit in 2007 amid R2 billion worth of fraud. "This list, it should be noted, is limited only to payouts received by departing CEOs of parastatals. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWEofYA4lUpx5dRWem2qz0EHIwYduYaG0rB1ZX8hziy4Vxc8a1DqtTbskqkrgnxp9jY4p1FKHFjyrbdP6Vg1fDmE739H0F3BiperxaOtIjKb8bljmepIySpvYZwgUT5-4VH7BWZ_6TJkm/s1600-h/gravy-train.bmp"></a>"The culture of golden handshakes, however, extends far beyond that under the ANC. Recent examples of Lawrence Mushwana (R7 million) and Vusi Pikoli (R7.5 million) illustrate precisely that point." Van Dalen said the party would pose questions to the Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan to establish the true cost of severance packages over the last few years. "We cannot continue to pay for incompetence like this. This is money that could be spent on ensuring that parastatals deliver quality services to the public that they are required to". Related:- <a href="http://moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page326289?oid=332997&sn=2009+Detail+no+image&pid=326289">Drowning in the trough</a><a href="http://moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page326289?oid=342546&sn=2009+Detail+no+image&pid=326289">The revenge of Jacob Maroga</a>

Fat cats pocket R262 million of Tax Payer money for FAILING!!!

Payouts to "failed" departing chief executives of South Africa's parastatals have cost the South African public at least R262....

7:50 PM

Hair-raising tales of plane crashes

<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393240299632076082" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwYq1Jpg8WJZDg2efnOcidUyq28aVJHug5tfHhTZ45mY73mJ-Csr88LXRp10fsau_XzOQ0dqYJ1aXGoj9_kHIihDpdxrK3vX8xDWpRMg1lwwEqaQlWX4jIHKfgwMWwfH9_FoSvKZ0-W0/s400/saa_epic_fail.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 283px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" />JOHANNESBURG - Hair-raising tales, such as a thumping seatbelt causing an aircraft to crash and a frying pan being used to fix a plane, were heard at an aviation safety seminar on Friday. Veteran airline captain Scully Levin, who heads the General Aviation Safety Initiative (GASI), said the main aspects in aviation safety that needed improvement were flight training, the conditions of aircraft and the high occurrence of human error. “Poor decision-making by pilots is often the cause,” Levin told a SA Civil Aviation Authority seminar. But recent research suggested human error was usually “the last link in the chain of events that lead to an accident,” said Peter Mashaba, of SA Express, in a presentation. Just more than 80 plane crashes had been reported in South Africa by September this year, compared to about 140 by September last year. In total, some 190 plane crashes were reported in 2008. Levin said there was a minefield of problems that needed to be addressed to get fatality, accident and serious incident rates down in a country with around 10,500 registered aircraft. That number increases by about 500 aircraft per year. The GASI, set up after a spate of accidents in the second half of last year, have already started implementing some proposals, including investigating some flight training schools and suspending unqualified instructors. GASI also suggested new regulations for the requirements of licence renewals, since some pilots did not get enough flying hours to maintain their proficiency. Pilots also needed better training in how to operate parachutes in the case of an emergency. “The aviation environment is a hostile one,” said Levin. “Cross-country flight within South Africa presents its fair share of problems.” This included the “sparsely located” facilities of fuel stops and weather stations. Levin said he had heard of a pilot whose plane’s spinner backplate, which is held in place by the propeller and the propeller nut, had broken. “He went into the town of Mkhuzi Šin KwaZulu-NatalÆ and he bought a frying pan. An aluminium frying pan made by Heart Šthe brandÆ, cut the handle off, took the propeller off and used that as a spinner backplate. “It’s a hellavu cheap, creative solution... but it also exposed him to danger,” said Levin. He also lamented the state of some aircraft. “I have a friend who lost a son because he was in plane who had a wing come off because the wrong bolts were used.” Rennie van Zyl, SACAA acting executive manager for accident investigations, showed pictures of some plane crashes in South Africa. “We have seen some significant accidents in South Africa, such as the separation of wings. We have seen some very nasty accidents,” said Van Zyl. Often, human error plays a role. He cited the example of a crash that happened after the pilot shut off the engine “because of a thumping sound” he heard. “It turned out the thumping sound was made by the seat belt,” said Van Zyl. Nobody was injured in that crash. SACAA chief executive Captain Colin Jordaan said some pilots refused to wear shoulder harnesses, and he knew of two pilots who died as a result. But overall, in South Africa, aviation safety seemed to be improving this year after “black September and black October” towards the end of 2008, when more than 35 accidents were reported in the two-month period. “There is no way one can talk about being proud of an accident rate, but we are very pleased to see some of the initiatives we have put in place working,” said Jordaan. New legislation in the aviation industry, which consolidates current laws and comes into effect in November, will see the creation of an independent Aviation Safety Investigation Board. It will take over the function of investigating plane crashes from the SACAA. The board will still refer some investigations to the SACAA but will conduct most probes independently and report directly to the minister, said Jordaan. -Sapa

Hair-raising tales of plane crashes

JOHANNESBURG - Hair-raising tales, such as a thumping seatbelt causing an aircraft to crash and a frying pan being used to fix a plane, were...

9:27 AM

We Have Just Landed in Johannesburg, We Hope You Have Enjoyed the Flight. Please Do Not Try to Collect Your Luggage.

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLsvRXzI9tXyxI8liIkTmWjYUZFIZsUly1EMvcFHBUhCGt2sSrDIHiosksMrFatyIspUtTg1u7RN3GCElKj1sJa-k9p79LT4nfn94L-VVxM99i_-sVV4afkoorPGsgWO9i5vJfUvQuG0/s1600-h/ANC_Soccer_2010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392138593432862034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwLsvRXzI9tXyxI8liIkTmWjYUZFIZsUly1EMvcFHBUhCGt2sSrDIHiosksMrFatyIspUtTg1u7RN3GCElKj1sJa-k9p79LT4nfn94L-VVxM99i_-sVV4afkoorPGsgWO9i5vJfUvQuG0/s400/ANC_Soccer_2010.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px" /></a>Written by Daniel Steinmann Windhoek — To the world, South Africa is the African powerhouse, the only significant economy and the only meaningful place from which to enter the rest of the continent. Its superiority is overwhelmingly reflected in our otherwise dismal African statistics, in its domination on the sports field, in its markets, its infrastructure, its universities, its mines, its technology, its financial services, and in its claimed ability to host the FIFA Soccer World Cup next year. But for us on its fringes, South Africa's dominance is often a source of minor and major irritation, not least since we are not bowled over by its appearance. I think there is a huge amount of eyeblinding going on in our southern neighbour and former colonial master. Not even considering the shenanigans of its politicians, including the clown-like antics of its current president, I am more concerned with SA's real ability to live up to its popular image. In short, I think a large part of it is a farce. It is a fact that South Africa is the murder capital of the world. The gruesome statistics are repeated often enough by many NGOs but one gets the impression, South Africans are blaze' over this fact and regard it as a mere inconvenience. Crime in SA is at the order of the day, not only in poor or rural areas - everywhere, especially in the suburbs. I am asking myself how are the morally sensitive First-worlders going to swallow this unpleasant reality when it starts hitting them on a daily basis. I do not think SA is ready or able to host the soccer world cup. But more important, I do not think the world knows, or want to know, that the big lion of Africa cannot host a brass band march without a dozen people getting killed. Vicious crime on a daily basis everywhere in SA is as normal as going to the loo for your early morning pee. This hard fact will hit the soccer fans in the hardest way imaginable the moment they set foot on SA soil. I expect a severe backlash in international media, the moment the first soccer fan is robbed (I expect this on the very first day), and an even bigger outcry when the first visitor is murdered for a cellphone or a video camera. (This I expect within the first week.) Earlier this week I spent some time at Hosea Kutako International Airport. It is always a source for reflection to count the number of arrivals and departures and to see where they are going to or coming from. Again, the statistics are skewed. By far the biggest number of flights come and go from South Africa, even more than our own local flights. And of these flights, there are about twice as many to and from Johannesburg as there are from Cape Town. Striking a light conversation with a tour operator, I heard a very familiar lament. Of the 12 people he had to pick up, 8 arrived without their baggage. Now this has become a running joke in Namibia - South African Airways' proven ability to lose one's baggage, but it is always more than an inconvenience when you arrive in Marseilles, or London, or Frankfurt and there is no case to collect. When returning home, it is not such a big issue, except that I do not even want to try and speculate what it must cost SAA in Windhoek per month to deliver hundreds (if not thousands) of baggable items per month. I know the airline and the SA airports company are not the same entity, but in the eyes of the flying public, for all practical intents, they are. Still talking to the same tour operator, he said he collects groups of people on average about every second week at Hosea Kutako. Those that fly in from Cape Town or Europe, normally do not have a problem with lost luggage. But those that come from Johannesburg invariably have to wait for items lost at Johannesburg International. And of the bags that do arrive, more than 80% have clearly been ransacked. There is always something missing, almost from every single piece of luggage, he said. Talking to a Namibian Airports Company employee a little bit later, he informed me that they had a formal complaints channel with the airports company in Johannesburg, but that the number of complaints become so big, more staff had to be assigned just to handle this. No response ever came back from the SA airports company, so after a while the local airports operator simply stopped lodging complaints. It patently was a waste of time. So, if the mighty powerful South Africa cannot control a hundred or so luggage handlers all working in a rather contained airport building, how do they ever want to convince the world that they will be able to control their many thousands of hard criminals who roam the entire country. Source - <a href="http://www.economist.com.na/">http://www.economist.com.na/</a>

We Have Just Landed in Johannesburg, We Hope You Have Enjoyed the Flight. Please Do Not Try to Collect Your Luggage.

Written by Daniel Steinmann Windhoek — To the world, South Africa is the African powerhouse, the only significant economy and the only meani...

9:14 AM

SAA – sink or save?

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPZhyphenhyphen1f_gHwrh3lfVas1V0v9mi_lYXyZ_thipfYkeYGTm2xEiwBu_CDAOZD18E0l8szy1Qre7bv_bvRwSKkXHEPw4hJV6lp1vVyC2E292F9muCxXcbmHyNNUU4ZcsieH3z4Dko52aRcE/s1600-h/SAA-LARGE.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319008887189978482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigPZhyphenhyphen1f_gHwrh3lfVas1V0v9mi_lYXyZ_thipfYkeYGTm2xEiwBu_CDAOZD18E0l8szy1Qre7bv_bvRwSKkXHEPw4hJV6lp1vVyC2E292F9muCxXcbmHyNNUU4ZcsieH3z4Dko52aRcE/s400/SAA-LARGE.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a>Although our national airline, South African Airways has been a bad, bad boy this year, Santa er… government still dished out an additional R1.6-billion for the beleaguered parastatal in its 2009/10 budget. And the giving doesn't stop there, no sir! SAA's board of directors came under heavy criticism after it was revealed that they were literally taking home the bacon. Of the R65-million net profit SAA made during its 2006/7 financial year, more than half that money (R37.64-million) was paid out in performance bonuses. Surely you actually have to perform to receive a performance bonus? Even (recently) axed CEO, Khaya Ngqula had his piece of the pie as his earnings topped an estimated R20-million during his four-year tenure as head of the airline. It seems like a lot of taking and a lot less giving from SAA's side. According to Public Enterprises Minister Brigitte Mabandla, our national airliner has received financial support, including cash injections, totalling more than R12.054-billion since 2004, this excluding the restructuring costs of R1.345-billion. And it is still begging for more. Time is ripe to look into privatising Meanwhile the parastatal's losses rallied to around R13.74-billion for the period from 2002 to 2008, while the global economic downturn, coupled with higher fuel prices and heavy interest on its crippling debt, are seen to still plague the airliner during the current financial year. Please excuse my business ignorance, but surely a company that ran at an annual loss of around R1-billion in 2008 and R833-million in 2007 would be a lost cause? Surely the time is ripe to seriously look into privatising our money-sucking national carrier? Privatisation has been proven time and again to be a sure-fire recipe for success. SAA has a legacy of failures. This was only aggravated by the latest drug-trafficking scandal that caused the airliner much damage – and perhaps even more ticket sales. With around five airlines flying domestic and international flights to and from South Africa, it really makes one wonder whether there is still much need for the state-owned airline. SAA could look at a more lucrative future Opposition political parties have on numerous occasions called on government – its biggest shareholder – to privatise SAA, but without any luck. If the privatisation of other aviation giants such as British Airways, Kenya Airways and Air Botswana is anything to go by, SAA could be looking at a more lucrative future. SAA could make a killing through listing, while other options such as BEE deals could also prove rewarding. Of course, such a privatisation will require the business to get rid of all inept staff and the appointment of a capable and experienced CEO would be vital for survival. The South African route is a profitable one and should SAA fold, I am certain there are many carriers, national and international which would jump at such an opportunity. Our national carrier is an albatross around South Africa's neck, an embarrassment not only to our aviation industry but also to our country.

SAA – sink or save?

Although our national airline, South African Airways has been a bad, bad boy this year, Santa er… government still dished out an additional ...

8:20 AM

South Africa's Airports licence at risk in the Cape

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgoypwCXhUrtJO2bhUvsrz8JfTz4aIXfLHsBPKhQfZy5KBhJRgw0MyJtNEnL2uPnCl4n8cBuZjno37-Bo8asGpRp_iLd3XvO9RBwwTYKIulb7WBwpgMirWYZyOCzAtuWXHHF2imzluC4/s1600-h/acsa-scare.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313709697811767074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgoypwCXhUrtJO2bhUvsrz8JfTz4aIXfLHsBPKhQfZy5KBhJRgw0MyJtNEnL2uPnCl4n8cBuZjno37-Bo8asGpRp_iLd3XvO9RBwwTYKIulb7WBwpgMirWYZyOCzAtuWXHHF2imzluC4/s400/acsa-scare.bmp" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a>The scarcity of properly trained firefighters at Cape Town International Airport "poses a risk" and "is serious enough to threaten" the airport's operating licence. Poorly trained airport firefighters do not know how to use equipment, do not know their assigned duties on the fire engines and lack the experience to drive these. Another internal airport document has said that two-thirds of the firefighters do not have enough training. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) plans to investigate the training of the airport's firefighters during its next audit. The airport fire service is privately owned and run by the Airports Company of SA (Acsa). According to the report by an internal auditor, Aldrich Blignaut, who has since been hired as the fire service's emergency response planner, firefighters "lacked knowledge" of how to operate fire tenders and equipment. "This poses a risk (because) in real (emergencies) the crew will need to operate at a much quicker pace than during the audit and they will then need to be sure of what they are doing and which type of equipment to use," Blignaut said. "New recruits are being used as operational staff too soon after their appointment and without the proper training." "The entire issue of training is serious enough to threaten our operating licence, as the number of unskilled and inexperienced staff far outweighs the skilled and experienced staff available," said Wilson. In another section of the report, on the handling of hoses, Blignaut said "the lack of ability to roll out hoses on the fire ground" raised questions about the readiness of recruits deployed as operational staff. Under the heading "Lack of knowledge of equipment on vehicles and location", Blignaut said it was worrying to find out that some firefighters could not "identify and differentiate between a two-stroke and a four-stroke machine". During the audit, Blignaut also noted that some firefighters did not know their assigned duties on fire engines, such as pulling hoses or switching on pumps, and could not identify the airport's rendezvous points for emergency services. Wilson said firefighters should have received airport emergency plan training in January, and another four times this year. On the question of driving vehicles, Blignaut said although firefighters obtained a heavy duty driver's licence through a driving school, this did not "give them enough experience" in operating the vehicles during emergencies. Wilson said 30 of the 46 firefighter drivers had less than a year's driving experience and many were "in dire need" of training, but they were not allowed to do "unnecessary driving" of fire tenders as this would affect the fuel budget. The CAA carries out audits at every airport in the country each year. An airport would lose its operating licence if the audit were not carried out or if it failed it. Last year Cape Town International Airport passed its audit. The next one is scheduled for July. See also - <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/03/85-of-firefighters-hired-by-airports.html">Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) airport safety shock</a>

South Africa's Airports licence at risk in the Cape

The scarcity of properly trained firefighters at Cape Town International Airport "poses a risk" and "is serious enough to thr...

1:52 AM

Ousted SAA Ceo Ngqula boards gravy plane

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRxNkEkA_Dvl4FiJ5zCU6OquZLmPT6b4wKLQY1dbSpeO0sHoljjwVxRHFBhDrxQmJdyne_wn33JlmPW9AbduS_SDHdvvR91kf_LGsn5CrhbWDg1bohigwDf-ypcmRth3BIzG2z7GSGas/s1600-h/SAA+CEO+Khaya+Ngqula.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313582271794183810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRxNkEkA_Dvl4FiJ5zCU6OquZLmPT6b4wKLQY1dbSpeO0sHoljjwVxRHFBhDrxQmJdyne_wn33JlmPW9AbduS_SDHdvvR91kf_LGsn5CrhbWDg1bohigwDf-ypcmRth3BIzG2z7GSGas/s320/SAA+CEO+Khaya+Ngqula.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 313px" /></a>Ousted South African Airways chief executive Khaya Ngqula has received more than R33-million in salary, bonuses and severance pay from the troubled national carrier. According to SAA's annual reports, Ngqula earned R2 295 000 in the 2004/05 financial year, R6 850 000 in the 2005/06 book year including a R1 850 000 bonus payment, and R5-million in the 2006/07 financial year. In the 2007/08 book year when SAA posted a R1 billion loss, he earned R5 880 000, including a R688 000 retention bonus. In 2009 he would have earned around R6,3-million, including a retention bonus and the 7 percent salary increase to which managers were entitled. He would have received another 7 percent increase and a retention bonus in the new financial year bringing his earnings to R6,7-million - amounts apparently calculated into his severance package. The SAA source said Ngqula had received a severance package "equivalent to what he would have earned had he completed his term of office". He had repaid about R1,2-million in retention bonuses in terms of the state-owned company's clawback clause in the event of resignation. The payments exclude the cost of several helicopter trips to meetings in Gauteng during his four-and-a-half year tenure and the cost of a chartered flight from London to Paris where he apparently has a home. Ngqula's departure from SAA came less than a month after he was suspended pending the outcome of a probe by KPMG's forensic auditors, who were appointed by the company's board of directors in February to investigate numerous irregularities. These included: <ul><li>the payment of R60-million in retention premiums to 127 senior airline officials; </li><li>procurement irregularities related to SAA's restructuring drive; </li><li>the payment of more than R100-million to Seabury consultants, which had recommended that 2 000 jobs be cut; </li><li>allegations of a conflict of interest after it came to light that Mbali Gasa, Ngqula's wife, was a director of the empowerment company awarded the airline's lucrative in-flight catering contract. </li></ul>

Ousted SAA Ceo Ngqula boards gravy plane

Ousted South African Airways chief executive Khaya Ngqula has received more than R33-million in salary, bonuses and severance pay from the t...

7:12 AM

SAA Chief Khaya Ngqula Quits Amid Probe

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H9BEL7GJhd2brY-zYEHFR_cPuFq0UOtkd4OvG2vvhyphenhyphen3W82VLmS_WWvHFrR7Y7tVozO4v7-h2yIuyo9fcCDIqWI94gqx7LEK5MzcXGHQVlvIcgDRFLugjXOosuchOCcN0qEgJEyCiO4E/s1600-h/khaya-ngqula-sun-times.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312082009225782242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H9BEL7GJhd2brY-zYEHFR_cPuFq0UOtkd4OvG2vvhyphenhyphen3W82VLmS_WWvHFrR7Y7tVozO4v7-h2yIuyo9fcCDIqWI94gqx7LEK5MzcXGHQVlvIcgDRFLugjXOosuchOCcN0qEgJEyCiO4E/s400/khaya-ngqula-sun-times.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 286px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>SOUTH African Airways (SAA) CEO Khaya Ngqula, who has been on special leave while being investigated for alleged mismanagement, is to leave the airline after agreeing on a settlement. While SAA chairman Jakes Gerwel was tight-lipped about the size of Ngqula's settlement yesterday, it is thought that he could get a package of nearly R8m based on his current salary and taking into account that his six-year contract is due to run until the end of August next year. This is likely to exclude the more than R1m in retention bonuses he would have to pay back due to his leaving before the end of his contract. The payout will only be made known in the airline's annual report later this year. In a statement yesterday, Gerwel said: "It has been agreed between the parties that the terms of the settlement are confidential, but any payments will be reflected in the annual report in accordance with normal disclosure obligations." SAA confirmed that the investigation into mismanagement would continue. Last month, a subcommittee established by the board of SAA appointed KPMG's forensic unit to conduct a forensic audit into allegations surrounding the airline, including the issue of retention premiums, conflict of interest and procurement. Ngqula's decision to vacate the CEO's office was sparked by allegations made by the South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union in a dossier given to Public Enterprises Minister Brigitte Mabandla, detailing alleged wrongdoing by senior members of SAA management, Ngqula in particular. Manie van Wyk, Democratic Alliance spokesman on public enterprises and a member of Parliament's public enterprises portfolio committee, said yesterday it was "unacceptable for SAA to reach an agreement on a package before the investigation has been completed".

SAA Chief Khaya Ngqula Quits Amid Probe

SOUTH African Airways (SAA) CEO Khaya Ngqula, who has been on special leave while being investigated for alleged mismanagement, is to leave ...

12:02 PM

Airports Co South Africa (Acsa) Airport Safety Shock

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikghLveGCVFLsIOzHpCLEjQ6BT3qdeWppIImSdCnT-VpMF51x965QF2cQ1zYYobeQF-LOGnYNeq4t3Cq-0tY3uBtFvoVln5M4auOck_yUf-Ysbn7FUFZx93dtxZHXfvBXp440b5YT7plQ/s1600-h/ACSA-disembark.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311723447965633922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikghLveGCVFLsIOzHpCLEjQ6BT3qdeWppIImSdCnT-VpMF51x965QF2cQ1zYYobeQF-LOGnYNeq4t3Cq-0tY3uBtFvoVln5M4auOck_yUf-Ysbn7FUFZx93dtxZHXfvBXp440b5YT7plQ/s400/ACSA-disembark.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 319px" /></a>Two-thirds of the 62 firefighters stationed at Cape Town International Airport are "poorly trained" and have little or no general firefighting experience. Only 15 percent are fully experienced and have a professional aviation qualification. Training for an aviation qualification includes learning how to open and close an aircraft's doors and how to approach an aircraft when there is a crisis. Should a major emergency arise at the airport, most of the firefighters may not have the skills to respond appropriately. The airport fire service is privately owned and run by the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa). It is not affiliated to the city or the province's fire services. Some of the firefighters have themselves said they do not feel they have had sufficient training. The airport's chief fire officer has resigned, apparently because of the lack of training provided for his staff. But Acsa is adamant it has "sufficiently qualified staff able to respond to any aviation incident". According to an internal document that lists the skills levels of firefighters employed at Cape Town International Airport and which is in the possession of the Cape Times, 41 of the 62 have insufficient experience or aviation qualifications. Most of the 41 have worked at the airport for three years or less and were not firefighters before taking this appointment. According to the document, 12 of the 62 airport firefighters have an average amount of experience. While some have an internal aviation qualification, others are experienced enough to go for aviation training. Only nine of the firefighters have a professional aviation qualification and are experienced in this field. Most of the nine have worked at the airport for more than 20 years. Eleven posts are vacant and are being filled. A well-placed employee who, for fear of reprisals asked not to be named, said Acsa had appointed inexperienced people "off the street" as firefighters as this was cheaper than employing people with experience. He said that to be hired by the airport, one needed to have passed matric, to have a code eight driver's licence and to have completed an internal three-week basic firefighting course. Hiring inexperienced firefighters was problematic because being stationed at the airport meant they did not have to respond to many emergencies and so did not gain much experience, he said. Another source said the three-week basic course was "nowhere close to that for a professional fire service". "The firefighters are poorly trained and they don't have experience," he said. "Some of them haven't been trained to respond to a structural fire. "Even if they do get further training, it leaves them without experience." The source said Acsa had also "totally ignored" two phases a firefighter needed to complete to gain "a proper" aviation qualification. A firefighter should complete a three-month course first, then a month-long programme before he or she could specialise by completing an aviation course. The source said Acsa was skipping the first two courses and sending firefighters for an internal aviation course. This meant that those who gained an internal aviation qualification "completely missed out on the basics". The firefighters' duties included responding to medical emergencies and carrying out airfield inspections and runway checks. The source said only the nine experienced members knew how to carry out inspections and checks correctly, and they had to "pick up the weight" of the 41 inexperienced firefighters. He said the fire chief, Brandon Wilson, had resigned as he was unable to continue working in such conditions. See report here - <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/03/cape-airports-licence-at-risk.html">Cape Airport's licence at risk</a>

Airports Co South Africa (Acsa) Airport Safety Shock

Two-thirds of the 62 firefighters stationed at Cape Town International Airport are "poorly trained" and have little or no general ...

1:05 PM

SAA staff 'offered huge amounts of money' to swop flights

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcu87nURViaBlwQWZoH5E-O57aoL7V_bhgUE0fh2d5bC_h71e6ccLznCNCwdoGpeNurhkk2h7ev0IuB0BS6iUrb0hy5T-LbrBjearmubZHCK6ZQT-EYrP_2xQRZ4kx5BnYW09dMyZi0M/s1600-h/SAA-flyhigh.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307486382724240050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcu87nURViaBlwQWZoH5E-O57aoL7V_bhgUE0fh2d5bC_h71e6ccLznCNCwdoGpeNurhkk2h7ev0IuB0BS6iUrb0hy5T-LbrBjearmubZHCK6ZQT-EYrP_2xQRZ4kx5BnYW09dMyZi0M/s400/SAA-flyhigh.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 251px" /></a>Staff of South African Airways tried to warn management of suspicious activities involving flight crew before the recent drug bust in London, but their bosses "just shrugged their shoulders". The staff's warning was given to management after some of them had been offered huge amounts of money to swop flights with others. This has been disclosed by the Aerospace Aviation Sector manager of the United Associations of South Africa, which represents SAA staff, Willie van Eeden. Van Eeden made his disclosures when taking part in SAfm Radio's After Eight Debate on the recent arrests of SAA flight crews in London and the steps now being taken to improve airport security. He said: "We have evidence our staff were offered huge amounts of money to change rosters to ensure other employees, crew members, got on to aircraft flights." Van Eeden said this was reported to management. "They just shrugged their shoulders and said it was not their problem. We feel that is serious and should be investigated." He said this swopping of crew could have been going on for some time. "But they have never offered this amount of money to swop a flight." There was, he said, a serious lack of trust between cabin crew and their employers, the management of the company. Van Eeden said his staff were extremely proud of SAA and had been greatly upset by the arrests in London. "This sort of thing had not happened in the past. And suddenly in the past couple of months it has occurred twice." He said he was pleased to hear that the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) had now taken over the security checking of SAA flight crews. This had previously been done in the local crew centre by security staff appointed by SAA. "I found it a little strange that you would appoint your own security, saying you can check all people but us as a crew. We are privileged not to be checked." Acsa's director of operations, Bongani Maseko, said his company's core mandate was to check on the security of the aircraft and its passengers, but it had co-operated with the authorities in the search for drugs. Maseko said drug smuggling was very common at airports. "At the Johannesburg Airport just in 2008 we had more than 500 incidents of drug smuggling detected, that is about 1.5 incidents a day." He said some of the drug hauls taken in Johannesburg made the 5kg detected at Heathrow - however distressing - look small. "We had an incident of 132kg of cocaine detected, coming from Brazil." He said people of many nationalities had been arrested in Johannesburg. "We have had British nationals. We have had Brazilians, Indians, Thais, Portuguese, Kenyans, Ruandans, Russians, Bolivians, all caught at OR Tambo Airport. "It is internationally accepted that airline crew are targeted by drug dealers to smuggle drugs just because of their ability to handle them." Maseko said security at all airports had been tightened. "We have started with the practice of sniffer dogs. Unfortunately we do not have enough sniffer dogs, but we have procured equipment that will help us to identify narcotics." A third panellist, Annette Hubschle, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, said smuggling on air routes was one of the most common forms of drug trafficking. "SAA is not the first airline affected by flight attendants being involved in such activities," she said. Hubschle believed the information that led to the Heathrow arrests had come from the authorities in South Africa.See also <a class="articleheadline" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090227122313768C639020">SAA staffer faces hearing over shift bribe</a>

SAA staff 'offered huge amounts of money' to swop flights

Staff of South African Airways tried to warn management of suspicious activities involving flight crew before the recent drug bust in London...

6:59 AM

Regular American traveller to S.Africa writes about horrific experiences on SAA

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsQPCaEpksIJkhdi3xDalqI-_DXX0s1Trc3n235zZbARMlQs0I_7sCbhr6PqxyDt-1jp9eyu4iYjiqCU2Oejp-kjwXIYhimHVahqFjKWX1YwfOOmwtnYVKdujW0uGwJc_eUyZKjB91SI/s1600-h/SAA01.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307529395479135010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsQPCaEpksIJkhdi3xDalqI-_DXX0s1Trc3n235zZbARMlQs0I_7sCbhr6PqxyDt-1jp9eyu4iYjiqCU2Oejp-kjwXIYhimHVahqFjKWX1YwfOOmwtnYVKdujW0uGwJc_eUyZKjB91SI/s400/SAA01.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 304px" /></a>Letter from Dr Brown in California about his experiences on SAA I have been coming to South Africa since 1994 and in all cases of travel; I have used South African Airways (SAA) exclusively. On the 30th April 2007, I travelled in the New First/Business class on flight, SAA 208 from Washington DC to Johannesburg at the huge sum of R47,110.00 + receiving THE MOST HORRIFIC SERVICE I HAVE EVER RECIVED on any airline in any class of service – EVER! In spite of prior notice through their authorized Travel Agency and myself directly, SAA served me food that I’m deadly allergic to that required immediate medical attention. To date, SAA refuses to take any responsibility for it. This incident required that the on board medical kit to be opened and medication taken and used or I could have died. I suffered a raw throat, as if I had swallowed molten metal for three days after and have suffered indigestion for my entire trip. The seriousness of this incident has been belittled and ignored by SAA Customer Service and NO responsibility or jest of regret has been forthcoming. It was left to me to seek medical attention while in South Africa, from an injury caused at the hands of SAA staff. Yet, I have to pay and there wasn’t even a gesture of concern to ever come from SAA, nor a follow-up call to even ask how I was doing or if there was something they could do. Customer Service totally absent- A Joke! Additionally, male cabin crew attendants on this flight (at least in the Business class galley behind row 7) did not seek to assist passengers, choosing rather to sit or eat behind the curtain the entire flight – making other-more diligent staff less able to assist the needs of the passengers. In one case when I got up to seek assistance going behind the curtain, I was grabbed by one of these male attendants by both of his hands at my shoulders and told “I should have rung the bell rather than coming there”. He then proceeded to speaking to me in a language I did not understand but the tone and inflection was other than cordial. I was truly fearful of what else these “Cabin Crew Thugs” could and would do. I therefore choose at that time to keep quite, knowing that I had to retune on SAA and did not want to set myself up for an ambush from the same crew or other cabin crew friends. I’m now home and have no fear of reprisal. A few realities from this SAA experience are noteworthy. In that I have family in flight crew status, I have an advantage in assessing crew performance over the average tourist. 1. Incompetent and unqualified staff are working on SAA flights, chosen by who they are and not their ability! 2. How dramatic has the in-flight service with SAA declined in four years! 3. How insensitive and unconcerned have customer service reps. become! 4. What will service be like in the next four years? 5. Will the World in 2010 have similar experiences? Upon my exiting of South Africa, I needed to go to the SAA counter. While waiting, I observed the following poster on the wall behind the counter. How ironic it reads. SAA – Our Values People First Safety & Security Proudly South African Accountability Integrity Reliability In relation to my flying experience, there was “People First”, how-be-it only when it applied to the Cabin Crew. And as to pride, there was a lot of it articulated at the Customer service office. They were so proud that they could not conceive the need to assist me or believe that there was a problem from their staff. In fact, all they did say was that I could write Ballai Mabena to voice my complaint - but that was what I was doing at the time, wasn’t it? Could it be that this meant that they did not want to handle my complaint? After repeated call to customer Service there was no “Accountability” and “Integrity” was on vacation! In reflecting on this posted - yet hollow value statement, even this is very flawed. In the aftermath of 911, Safety and Security should always be at the top of any list for an airlines company. And though I understand the need for pride in one county it should never come at the expense of or before accountability, integrity or reliability. By their actions or rather - lack of, SAA doesn’t get it!!! AND BTW Never to Fly SAA again! Dr. Ron Brown Oroville, California

Regular American traveller to S.Africa writes about horrific experiences on SAA

Letter from Dr Brown in California about his experiences on SAA I have been coming to South Africa since 1994 and in all cases of travel; I ...

6:38 AM

South African Airways a hub for drug-smuggling gangs

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcE9eBBctALqSgSkc-S07stRkge1frdXT9VxRnVYqINjyFBIgcjt7I7cpgWjPDQl1q3tM74gjIGS9nC1qXIPma_ZjC-yceOXlWPFA3JBOE2RSc-_rbtkXuwDby1KX5esCAbXFLJL2d86Q/s1600-h/saadrug.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305805740711625170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcE9eBBctALqSgSkc-S07stRkge1frdXT9VxRnVYqINjyFBIgcjt7I7cpgWjPDQl1q3tM74gjIGS9nC1qXIPma_ZjC-yceOXlWPFA3JBOE2RSc-_rbtkXuwDby1KX5esCAbXFLJL2d86Q/s400/saadrug.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px" /></a>South African Airways pilots and air stewardesses are wary of their colleagues. They don't know who to trust and are well aware they could be part of the next crew bust with drugs at Heathrow airport in the UK. International drug smugglers have targeted SAA to move their products into the United Kingdom and Europe. This "drug smuggling plague" SAA is experiencing is a movement of drugs in a supply chain from South-east Asia and South America into Africa, as a hub or transit point into Europe.<a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267380">see</a> Kenya Airways had a similar problem with drug smuggling some time ago, and when they tightened it up, Kenya became unattractive to the trade. The UK police also commented that to see two entire airline crews arrested within just a month of each other, was 'highly unusual'. <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/267427">see</a> The CEO told the parliamentary committe that after Kenya became unattractive to drug-smugglers, it was the turn of SAA to be targetted. "We have asked for help. SAA can't do this alone. It is not SAA's sole responsibility to fight crime. It is something that needs the collective effort of all players at the airport," Smyth said. And crew members who are interviewed are too terrified to talk. "We don't know who to talk to, who to trust. We don't know who else is involved. There is so much animosity and uncertainty at the moment. We are all afraid to go to London now," said an air stewardess, who did not want to be named. They are also terrified to reveal their names and would only speak if their names weren't quoted. <a href="http://www.da.org.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=6425">see</a> The crew members tell a harrowing tale: of airline crews being forced by armed gangsters to smuggle drugs, of a culture of bribery of officials, and the fact that there have been no increased security measures at Johannesburg airport, even though two aircrews were arrested over the past four weeks and the airline claimed that it had tightened up security. see <a class="articleheadline" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090221063738311C786778">No searches or dogs, claims SAA stewardess</a> Fifteen crew members - six women and nine men - were arrested at London's Heathrow Airport on Monday after 2kg of cocaine was allegedly found in their luggage. They were released on bail after questioning and are expected to return to the UK for further action on April 7 and 8. This follows the arrest of 15 crew in January on their arrival at Heathrow after the discovery of three crew bags packed with 50kg of dagga and 4kg of cocaine. All were released on bail and warned to appear in court in London in March after their DNA and fingerprints were taken. Two days later, airport security officer Pulane Hlahane, 43, and SAA employee Mmatshuma Matlhara, 35, were arrested. Hlahane is accused of providing Matlhara with extra security clearance tags so that she could travel with extra luggage, allegedly containing drugs. SAA has said the airline had not yet decided whether it would pay for its crew members to return to the UK to appear in court there. "A decision will be made in due course on whether SAA will assist in returning crew to Heathrow," said spokeswoman Robyn Chalmers. This week the airline claimed that they had tightened up security after the first arrest: "security systems were changed, bags were searched and dogs used on the airside." However, a stewardess who was interviewed said she "hadn't noticed any such measures. see <a class="articleheadline" href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20090221063738311C786778">No searches or dogs, claims SAA stewardess</a> "Yes, we had to write our names on our clearance tags. But I was never searched and there were no dogs," she said. Another crew member, speaking to Eyewitness News on Radio 702 talk-radio station in Johannesburg, said it was relatively easy to smuggle illegal goods on an international SAA flight. "There's no machine that can detect the drugs. If there are no sniffer dogs, it is easy." The SAA staff member also confirmed that the only new measure put in place was the labelling of the crew members' bags. An Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) employee, who also didn't want to be named, told the Saturday Star newspaper this week that SAA crew members involved in the drug incidents had been threatened by the people they were supplying that they would be exposed if they didn't co-operate. "Most of them wanted out (of the drug-running) but they had been threatened. They must do it - or be exposed. "It isn't just one air hostess - there are several involved. SAA has become a halfway point for the drugs." He reiterated what two SAA crew members said earlier: "Although there was an incident three weeks ago, crew are still not being searched. And there is a lot of bribery." Earlier this week, an SAA staff member contacted the Democratic Alliance oposition party on condition of anonymity and outlined a "total collapse of security procedures" in the SAA crew centre at Johannesburg International Airport. Terrified crew members say that lax security at the crew centre led to its use as a transit point for between 600 and 700 SAA international and domestic flight staff each day. "These lax security processes allow unhindered entry through the checkpoints into the crew centre and onto SAA flights," the staff member said. As a result of the revelations, the DA called on the minister of safety and security to report to the parliamentary committee on safety and security on the state of South Africa's airport security within four weeks. <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=vn20090221063738311C786778">see</a> South African Airways has failed miserably in their effort to combat crime and corruption within their own ranks. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2EZbrzVwfJ09xkoGr5z3Pal36XgOXlQMCfqN6o5LbMTkT-BGx4bWGeNCxLpFpesTIFzZkXtzRja_V0kdW-m3JvGHoY5NgUqAl6jxi-hPwMdwMVQoKFQVN2yA9qyCvyq9Yqi3khVT-V4/s1600-h/saagain.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305817301387476466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2EZbrzVwfJ09xkoGr5z3Pal36XgOXlQMCfqN6o5LbMTkT-BGx4bWGeNCxLpFpesTIFzZkXtzRja_V0kdW-m3JvGHoY5NgUqAl6jxi-hPwMdwMVQoKFQVN2yA9qyCvyq9Yqi3khVT-V4/s400/saagain.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 161px" /></a>Nearly nine years ago in May 2000 the Sunday Times reported that the South African Airways (SAA) was investigating allegations that members of its staff were involved in prostitution, bribery, money laundering and smuggling. The newspaper reported that more than 90 employees had been suspended pending an inquiry, after the company used phone taps and security cameras to monitor the activities of its staff. Investigations back then revealed that cabin attendants were involved in drug trafficking and other illegal activities. 16 February 2009 Flight SAA 234 smuggling drugs AGAIN!!! THIS IS A PATHETIC SHAMEFUL DISGRACE! Is it that difficult to search the plane on South African soil BEFORE it leaves for the UK? Plane crew held over cocaine haul. Fifteen crew members on a South African Airways (SAA) flight have been arrested after cocaine with a street value of £250,000 was seized at Heathrow. They uncovered five kilos (11lbs) of the Class A drug in a piece of baggage on the flight from Johannesburg. Source: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7893759.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7893759.stm</a> 21 January 2009 at Heathrow airport involving the seizure of cannabis (dagga) and cocaine with a street value of £310,000, implicating crew members on flight SAA 234 from Johannesburg, plus a series of similar incidents since the year 2000, is more than sufficient confirmation that SAA has failed miserably in their effort to combat crime and corruption within their own ranks. Source:<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/732246.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/732246.stm</a> For the record, I’ve included a few snippets of info concerning similar cases:Goodness knows how many “unreported” cases there are! 25 March 2006 – Inside Job A gang of 25 robbers made off with R67,2-million in US dollar bills at Johannesburg International Airport. Three airport officials employed by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), were arrested for their involvement in the multi-million dollar heist. Source <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060411121845697C307216">http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060411121845697C307216</a> April 2006 - the SA media reported two large drug busts at Jhb International. Cocaine with an estimated value of R64-million was confiscated. South African Revenue Service (SARS) custom officials found narcotics concealed in the wooden handles of women's handbags as part of cargo freight on a SAA flight from Sao Paulo airport in Brazil to Johannesburg. Source:<a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1145449084704B265">http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1145449084704B265</a> 29 April 2006, the media reported that South African Airways was battling to control a growing drug-smuggling epidemic among its own staff - with three stewards arrested on charges of cocaine and dagga smuggling in the past seven months. In one of these incidents a stewardess, Lindiwe Harriet Luthuli, 40, pleaded guilty to smuggling 5kg of cocaine and 10kg of herbal cannabis - valued at about £325 000 (more than R3,5-million) - into the United Kingdom. Luthuli arrived in the early hours of April 10, after she had arrived on flight SAA 234 from Johannesburg, --- the same flight number involved in the two most recent drug busts! Investigative news reports back in 2006 also revealed that, in addition to Luthuli, at least seven other SAA employees, including a pilot, had been arrested in countries such as Brazil, Australia and the United Kingdom since 2000. Source:<a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060429093007401C252314">http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060429093007401C252314</a> Concerning the latest two incidents at Heathrow Airport in the last 3 weeks, a spokeswoman for the SAA stated that the company was taking the discovery of the drugs "extremely seriously" and had provided the crew with legal representation. blah, blah blah! Typical democratic crap! First take care of the interests and rights of the suspected criminals! I think it’s time that management at SAA get off their fat butts and do something constructive, like sending crew members to a drug rehab for a month to see what illegal drugs actually do to the minds of our kids. See also --- <a href="http://tia-mysoa.blogspot.com/2009/01/eyewitness-account-of-bribery-and.html">An eyewitness account of bribery and corruption at the O.R. Tambo International Airport, JHB.</a>

South African Airways a hub for drug-smuggling gangs

South African Airways pilots and air stewardesses are wary of their colleagues. They don't know who to trust and are well aware they cou...

12:51 PM

SAA in financial trouble

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJgp2q9u_SJZEhIEUEle51I6tStVWBZx6HnKegUK4h-NEu_F7V2oXMr7UIZbFFdEIqflSuJp3JkkWFmtSK-52YS2DaELX4iLeG2Est_6vzneuJF44X2us7j3VyuGqQEV-A6B21RuBHvUc/s1600-h/SAA-flyhigh.jpg"></a> <img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304638993076525426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTS7570Yem5zqosGDQKwcY6Fj-eRkaWNp8uMFpxC_9JrSYl7QuI6IeRM0t8C2B3aIozvKHLuRQkBCUnSIG-D_7_QyxWSz0fhWspiwZR6fvCUxp9bD1VSNryH5GyaJiYQVa_milVDXZ3Kc/s400/South_African_Airways1.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 350px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 339px" />Hot on the heels of the drug smuggling scandal that has rocked SA Airways, the national carrier has revealed it is drowning in debt and desperately needs more taxpayers' money to survive. The airline's chief financial officer, Kaushik Patel, told shocked MPs on Parliament's public enterprises portfolio committee on Wednesday that the airline had been severely battered by high oil prices and other factors forcing it to survive entirely on borrowing. It has been a messy few weeks for SAA, hit by scandals involving chief executive Khaya Nqula, who has been put on ice while a probe into his alleged mismanagement takes place - and the sensational Heathrow drug busts resulting in the arrest of crews on two flights. Patel told the portfolio committee on Wednesday that while the airline made an operational profit, this was wiped out not only by high oil prices but by the heavy interest it has to pay on its crippling debt. "I'm sure if you run your business as normal you wouldn't want it to run it 110% on borrowed money. No business survives in the long term if it' s all the time on borrowed money. It has to have a certain amount of capital," he said. The airline has suffered a loss of about R1-billion this year after losing more than R800-million in the previous financial year. Patel cited alleged reckless hedging against the rand by the previous management of the airline - about four years ago - for the current financial mess. But while SAA pleaded for more money, the government - its biggest shareholder - warned that it could not keep depending on taxpayers' money for survival. Dr Andrew Shaw, deputy director-general for transport at the Department of Public Enterprises, said that while the government acknowledged that SAA was heavily in debt and needed to be assisted, it also believed that the airline needed to start showing a profit soon. "SAA needs to trade itself into profitability," he said. SAA had asked for a R5,6-billion rescue package from the government, but was allocated only R1,6bn by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in his recent Budget. This step was heavily criticised by opposition parties, which lamented what they said was poor management at the airline. Shaw said the government had given the funds to assist with SAA's restructuring, which includes the grounding of its Boeing 747 fleet and a drastic reduction in staff. Head of restructuring at SAA Vera Kriel said that the cost-cutting programme had saved about R2.3bn in all divisions of the airline, way above the R1.7bn target set for December. Meanwhile the Cabinet on Wednesday told Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa to move with "absolute urgency" in beefing up security controls at the country's airports to prevent further drug-smuggling on SAA flights. On Monday, British authorities detained the crew of an SAA flight after discovering 2.5kg of cocaine stashed in luggage carried aboard via the crew bus. This followed the arrest of an SAA crew in January after UK customs officials found a big stash of cocaine and 50kg of dagga in crew luggage. Government spokesperson Themba Maseko told journalists on Wednesday that the arrests were causing "untold damage to the reputation of the national airline, the country and its people". The Cabinet has called on SAA crew "not to allow themselves to be used by criminal syndicates" and urged them to co-operate with authorities in blowing the whistle on anyone, "including their colleagues, who is involved in illegal activities". <a href="http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?rid=22110011&cat=371b1b8643d479c1" target="_blank">National Airline Needs Big Govt Bail-Out</a> - Business Day <a href="http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?rid=22114725&cat=371b1b8643d479c1" target="_blank">Privatise SAA - consultant</a>

SAA in financial trouble

Hot on the heels of the drug smuggling scandal that has rocked SA Airways, the national carrier has revealed it is drowning in debt and desp...

2:20 PM

SAA’s 3m dollar golf splurge

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAejHXY8gm3S4PPRBFFejF7SCP7QyQ5ZY5-fsGXl8pZODYG-aY1tdsAK69Am0vln41Gg4zRrLNruPKVNoLI85dDW08d9gq1HCcNLff0aw-fke1P4aJeIN1DzGZEMRr-jCWbZ3Uz2tOBUU/s1600-h/AngelCabrera-sa.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300189761639677906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAejHXY8gm3S4PPRBFFejF7SCP7QyQ5ZY5-fsGXl8pZODYG-aY1tdsAK69Am0vln41Gg4zRrLNruPKVNoLI85dDW08d9gq1HCcNLff0aw-fke1P4aJeIN1DzGZEMRr-jCWbZ3Uz2tOBUU/s400/AngelCabrera-sa.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a>The golfer that SAA sponsors played at a tournament organised by the wife of the airline’s CEO. Airline’s ‘painful’ cost-cutting didn’t hurt fat deal with Angel Cabrera. SAA’s boss signed a 3-million endorsement deal with an international golfer just four months after the cash-strapped airline presented “painful” cost- cutting measures to its board. In a contract signed in London in August 2007, the airline offered Argentinian golfer Angel Cabrera a three-year deal — for what amounts to R28-million at today’s exchange rate — to take part in SAA’s advertising and promotional programmes until 2010. The move came at a time when the embattled airline was implementing the major cost- cutting recommendations of an airline turnaround specialist. The Cabrera contract, which bears the signatures of SAA chief executive Khaya Ngqula and Cabrera’s agent, Manuel Tagle, involved SAA forking out: <ul><li>A 200000 “bonus” to the golfer to be paid out annually by December 15; </li><li>Ten business-class or first- class return tickets a year; and </li><li>Two first-class tickets for the golfer to fly to South Africa to take part in the SAA South African Open Golf tournament — which the airline sponsored at the time — plus expenses for his meals and hotel accommodation. </li></ul>According to the contract, Cabrera — who is ranked 55th in the world — would receive his first payment, 20% of the 3- million, by no later than the end of the first week of September 2007, followed by another 30% in April last year and a further 25% by about April this year. The last payment, 25% of the 3-million, is to be paid into Cabrera’s US bank account early next year. The contract commits Cabrera to wearing SAA’s logo on his shirt at all golfing events. It also obliged him to take part in the SAA South African Golf Open in 2007, and to use SAA’s logo on his website. ( <a href="http://www.angelcabrera.com/">http://www.angelcabrera.com/</a> ) In 2007, SAA introduced its fourth cost-cutting programme in just 10 years, aimed at saving R2.7-billion in about 18 months. The measures, recommended by international firm Seabury Airline Planning Group, included eliminating R60-million by limiting the number of attendants on flights, saving R144- million by restructuring staff — and saving another R287-million by reviewing sponsorship and marketing expenses. Yesterday SAA spokes man Robyn Chalmers confirmed that Cabrera was on the airline’s books, along with “several other golfers”. “(He) is a brand ambassador for SAA. He will, for example, assist to promote awareness of and familiarity with SAA’s brand in Argentina when the airline launches a route to Buenos Aires in April this year,” she said. Last month, Cabrera was among the local and international golfers who played in the Africa Open Golf Challenge in East London. Ngqula’s wife, Mbali Gasa, owns the rights to the tournament, which was sponsored last year by insurance tycoon Vusi Sithole. Last week the Sunday Times revealed that the businessman co-owns the local arm of an international consortium that has been identified as the preferred bidder for SAA’s in-flight catering contract, estimated by SAA to be worth R1.5-billion. SAA has a partnership agreement with the Sunshine Tour, of which the Africa Open is a part — but the agreement specifically excludes Gasa’s tournament. The tour’s chief operating officer, Grant Wilson, said this was because the organisation was “sensitive to the fact that Mbali Gasa was involved” and another airline, Emirates Air, had concluded an exclusive sponsorship agreement for that event. Chalmers this week declined to answer questions related to a possible conflict of interest in the catering deal, saying processes had not been finalised and it would be “premature to provide a view on the matter”. Additional queries posed to Chalmers late yesterday about Cabrera’s participation in the Africa Open were not answered because of time constraints. Ngqula’s attorney, Billy Gundelfinger, who had not seen the queries, later gave an undertaking to respond personally on his client’s behalf this week. Last week the Sunday Times reported that the government had launched an investigation into the airline and its chief executive after receiving a litany of complaints from the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union. On Monday, Department of Public Enterprises spokesman Mzimasi Ngqelu said: “The allegations raised by Satawu had been brought to the attention of the chairman of the SAA board ... As the shareholder, we await the urgent response from the board on how they propose to deal with the investigation. We will work with the board to ensure that the issues raised are ... independently investigated.” Related links<a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=934589">Sponsorship agreement between SAA and Angel Cabrera</a> <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=934589">Why we won’t say sorry to SAA</a> <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=934597">Lame Duck not on top of game</a>

SAA’s 3m dollar golf splurge

The golfer that SAA sponsors played at a tournament organised by the wife of the airline’s CEO. Airline’s ‘painful’ cost-cutting didn’t hur...

2:07 PM

Minister probes SAA boss

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir99jJRtOFZ5yO1ohxo2tgpRxIjQzAFqVH2Oy5U0u9XDszUYN-A9yHXlINpRJhYuxBWaQNgqg48qTf_WCmJdoAQFUq_cylgARXF5xtkx7qtAuVMdgytl-RiRthoTlosLn9164LybrFKwU/s1600-h/saa-beauty+queen+Mbali+Gasa.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297899740713580274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir99jJRtOFZ5yO1ohxo2tgpRxIjQzAFqVH2Oy5U0u9XDszUYN-A9yHXlINpRJhYuxBWaQNgqg48qTf_WCmJdoAQFUq_cylgARXF5xtkx7qtAuVMdgytl-RiRthoTlosLn9164LybrFKwU/s400/saa-beauty+queen+Mbali+Gasa.gif" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 201px" /></a>Business partner of CEO Khaya Ngqula’s wife lands lucrative airline deal. The government will investigate South African Airways and its CEO, Khaya Ngqula, after receiving a litany of complaints from the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union, one of the biggest trade unions in the country. SA Airways boss Khaya Ngqula with his wife Mbali Gasa during their traditional wedding at Rhode village, near King Williams Town A dossier containing “serious allegations” against the loss-making national carrier and its senior management was submitted to minister of public enterprises Brigitte Mabandla by the union, which represents some 10000 ground and cabin crew. This comes as SAA prepares to clinch a catering deal estimated at R3.5-billion with a consortium involving Vusi Sithole, a business partner of Ngqula and his wife, former beauty queen Mbali Gasa. The department confirmed it had received the dossier, but said it would “communicate directly” with the union once it had “reviewed” it. Yesterday, Satawu general secretary Randall Howard said the union had held a meeting with the department and an agreement had been reached that the minister’s office would investigate the allegations against SAA and its senior management. “The allegations are indeed very serious,” he said. Asked about specific allegations in the dossier, Howard declined to go into detail. “The minister has agreed to investigate and we’ve given her the benefit of the doubt to go and investigate everything and clarify everything we’ve put on the table. And, of course, we expect her to be decisive in dealing with the matter.” The airline introduced vigorous cost-cutting since 2007, but for years it has suffered losses that required the government to plough taxpayers’ money into it — at least R2.8-billion in the past two years. As part of the cost-cutting exercise, it decided to sell off its catering division, Air Chefs. SAA confirmed this week that French company Servair is the preferred bidder to supply about 180000 weekly in-flight meals on SAA’s domestic routes. Servair’s empowerment partner is Auberge Michel, a five-star French restaurant in Sandton that is jointly owned by Sithole and Michel Morand. The Sunday Times has established that Sithole sponsored the inaugural Africa Open Golf Challenge, the rights to which belong to Ngqula’s wife, to the tune of R1.2-million. Gasa is also a director in one of his companies, Netlife Golf Consortium. The catering deal is the latest in a string of controversies that have dogged the airline chief. When Ngqula’s contract ends next year, it is estimated he will have amassed more than R20-million in wages and bonuses at the airline. Since his appointment in October 2004, Ngqula has been accused of: <ul><li>Running up a R500000 bill for helicopter trips to meetings in Gauteng that were within driving distance of each other between December 2004 and March 2005; </li><li>Short-changed taxpayers by R110-million in 2005 after rejecting a higher bid to lease three of SAA’s Airbus A340-300s to Indian airline Jet Airways. Two weeks before negotiations for the lease agreement started, Ngqula and the owner of Jet Airways, billionaire Naresh Goyal, holidayed together at a luxury resort in Goa; </li><li>Abandoned his post in July 2005, at the height of the most crippling strike in the history of SAA, to attend a junket with his wife at a luxury hotel in Mpumalanga; and </li><li>Pocketed an additional R68750 monthly retention bonus on top of his annual R5.3-million salary. </li></ul>Yesterday, Sithole denied that his association with Gasa had landed his consortium the contract. “The tendering process was open and it has taken us and our French partners two years to secure this deal,” he said, adding that he had declared all his business interests and followed all requirements. Asked about his business interests with Gasa, Sithole said: “I hardly ever see her.” SAA has also denied any irregularities in the tender process and said that an independent auditing firm had confirmed this. Spokesman Robyn Chalmers said Ngqula’s business interests were declared at the beginning of each year, in line with policy. “In the relatively small South African business environment, and particularly the black economic empowerment sector, many businessmen and their wives have indirect links with one another,” she said. Servair spokesman Céline Prenez declined to say how they had selected Auberge Michel as their partner in the multibillion-rand deal. Gasa and her husband founded the Africa Open Golf Challenge in 2006. Sithole’s wholly owned company, Nestlife Assurance, sponsored the inaugural event held at the Fish River Sun last year. — pilisos@sundaytimes.co.za

Minister probes SAA boss

Business partner of CEO Khaya Ngqula’s wife lands lucrative airline deal. The government will investigate South African Airways and its CEO,...

10:09 AM

SAA cabin crew arrested after drugs worth £150,000 found in baggage at Heathrow.

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0i7GxY1nJnoGNhAhcnpi3IUxH_e1Fjw3oha1HH6vIH-tF51LHQXnx_sYu9vm6BznNOMzFhHOc-WCMfsKJ9s_ZIj5dhQU11FJD36CCZyueVUEtS1bYm4aLXe9I8tXovkOIeEfRgtzRjc/s1600-h/SAA-flyhigh.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297554697258344258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0i7GxY1nJnoGNhAhcnpi3IUxH_e1Fjw3oha1HH6vIH-tF51LHQXnx_sYu9vm6BznNOMzFhHOc-WCMfsKJ9s_ZIj5dhQU11FJD36CCZyueVUEtS1bYm4aLXe9I8tXovkOIeEfRgtzRjc/s400/SAA-flyhigh.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 251px" /></a>South African Airways cabin crew have been arrested after cannabis worth about £150,000 was found in baggage arriving at Heathrow. Fifty kilos (110lb) of the drug were discovered on a flight that came in from Johannesburg, a spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said. Fifteen members of staff were taken into custody after the seizure by officers from the UK Border Agency. The drugs were discovered in three pieces of baggage, the spokesman said. The flight arrived at the London airport at 8am. Those held were both flight crew and cabin crew. HMRC spokesman Bob Gaiger said: "Those arrested are now being held in custody and will be interviewed by HMRC investigation officers. "HMRC, together with UKBA (UK Border Agency), play a vital role in the fight to prevent illegal drugs from entering the UK and in protecting our communities from the violence and corruption that always accompany this hideous trade." Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drugs smuggling should call a 24-hour customs hotline on 0800 59 5000. Update 24/01/2009 - <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/widgets/rss_redirect.php?artid=vn20090123012337683C956484&setid=1&sectid=13&url=iol&vne=0&csect=Top" id="flink_12_3943699517242423398" target="_blank" title="Police say they are investigating the husband of one of the suspects...">Cartel link to SAA drug bust</a> 29/01/2009 - <a class="headlines" href="http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=115912&sn=Detail">SAA security firm's ANC links</a>

SAA cabin crew arrested after drugs worth £150,000 found in baggage at Heathrow.

South African Airways cabin crew have been arrested after cannabis worth about £150,000 was found in baggage arriving at Heathrow. Fifty kil...

10:11 AM

OR Tambo International Airport gangs 'target' arrivals

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Epp0-E5exCurrGPXPzta7bY1E9K_gkgqjPIaukhi52ZWff1_H4P08qfyaioZdNhJ7QDSIOMoM3wd58gs_DQclKcUjcSanMsRub9Fij6xsa2IdHnKOgNddEVQ1yWYKai65soxV5axng/s1600-h/or+thambo.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293106045537761362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0Epp0-E5exCurrGPXPzta7bY1E9K_gkgqjPIaukhi52ZWff1_H4P08qfyaioZdNhJ7QDSIOMoM3wd58gs_DQclKcUjcSanMsRub9Fij6xsa2IdHnKOgNddEVQ1yWYKai65soxV5axng/s400/or+thambo.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" /></a>Johannesburg - According to the American Embassy, 14 Americans in the past 12 months have been robbed at gunpoint after landing at the OR Tambo international airport in Kempton Park. The embassy said that gangs of robbers targeted people arriving at airport and robbed them either at their destinations or on the way to their destinations. The embassy's website warned that organised criminal gangs were targeting visitors and residents at shopping malls and at the OR Tambo airport. "When a victim is identified he or she is followed to his or her destination and robbed, usually at gunpoint, though the use of violence is generally limited to those who offer resistance." Airport staff involved Beeld reported that another entry on the website read: "It seems that certain employees at the airport are involved in crime and it is believed that these employees inform criminals waiting outside the airport about which tourists declared valuable items or cash." Beeld reported media liaison officer for the embassy, Sharon Hudson-Dean, as saying that no travel warnings concerning South Africa have been issued. This statement stands in contrast to the police task team finding that no syndicates were operating at the airport that specifically targeted tourists. Superintendent Vish Naidoo said the department of foreign affairs had been contacted to pressure the Americans to remove the claims from their websites. "They are free to warn their citizens but we want proof of these allegations. ... Our investigations have shown that these are nothing more than allegations," Naidoo told Beeld. It was reported on Tuesday that three Vietnamese men have become the latest victims of robbers who follow tourists from the OR Tambo International Airport and attack them. Three men were accosted when they got to a house in Brooklyn, Pretoria, from the airport at 19:50 on Monday, said Captain Colette Weilbach. A red 4x4 pulled up behind them and four men held them at gunpoint taking their luggage and cellphones before fleeing, she said, adding that the serious and violent crimes unit was investigating the incident. Gauteng national police spokesperson Superintendent Vish Naidoo announced last Monday that, despite a spate of similar robberies, there was no evidence a syndicate was targeting air travellers. Just two days later, a Nigerian was robbed of his luggage on arrival at Johannesburg's exclusive Westcliff Hotel from the airport, in Kempton Park. Another two tourists, who were in the reception area checking out at the time, were also robbed of their bags. See <a href="http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1008.html#crime">Crime</a>

OR Tambo International Airport gangs 'target' arrivals

Johannesburg - According to the American Embassy, 14 Americans in the past 12 months have been robbed at gunpoint after landing at the OR Ta...

12:16 PM

South African Airways air-miles fraud

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3BvlDqGhFH0YpMJmFOKAruAwmOmtuIEcAlO-ApD7GYoIjNBhECWm-35Abw_QRV3KOnbY5aQSPpPioAA2nlo7LfrlibNex9-2bEKLlarMitg3Gs20hCeDQQE7wJKtCSLn-i9bxkNJPms/s1600-h/Khaya_Ngqula_SAA.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270176663982051570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3BvlDqGhFH0YpMJmFOKAruAwmOmtuIEcAlO-ApD7GYoIjNBhECWm-35Abw_QRV3KOnbY5aQSPpPioAA2nlo7LfrlibNex9-2bEKLlarMitg3Gs20hCeDQQE7wJKtCSLn-i9bxkNJPms/s400/Khaya_Ngqula_SAA.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 331px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 220px" /></a>At least nine people have been arrested in connection with an alleged multi-million rand South African Airways air-miles fraud in a protracted investigation being carried out by the Scorpions and the South African Police Service. The investigation began in 2006 in a bid to curb the theft of air-miles from premium customers for what was understood to be use by non-paying travellers on the notorious South Africa-Brazil drug route. Although details of the three SAPS arrests are sketchy, Scorpions spokesperson Tlali Tlali confirmed that six arrests were made by the Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions) in Gauteng on April 28 and 29 this year. One of the women arrested, Thobeka Malinga, an SAA employee, died in police custody. SAA staff member Dongani Sithole and another woman, Sharon Zana, arrested along with Malinga, have appeared in court. Their case was postponed to January 22, 2009. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqu6TgJlB32-zJvk0akx172ryGN9fSbv1Mf2jgoIVDZUMC2x2oq115UGlVNToJVwqfxE2YuTs9he8WHUF3R3gfJLZdftkKCAIxD4iGvNF5P_br8QsXhZAQIUwVAHNWYJisUYOEAsd8r8/s1600-h/khaya-ngqula-sun-times.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270182338389995938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqu6TgJlB32-zJvk0akx172ryGN9fSbv1Mf2jgoIVDZUMC2x2oq115UGlVNToJVwqfxE2YuTs9he8WHUF3R3gfJLZdftkKCAIxD4iGvNF5P_br8QsXhZAQIUwVAHNWYJisUYOEAsd8r8/s400/khaya-ngqula-sun-times.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 286px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a> Contrary to weekend media reports (see links below), acting National Prosecuting Authority head Mokotedi Mpshe has confirmed meanwhile that South African Airways CEO Khaya Ngqula "was not and is not under investigation". <a class="TopStoryHead" href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=885207">SAA boss in air-miles scandal</a>SAA boss Khaya Ngqula has been accused of dishing out free rides to a man he hired to spy on his staff.<a href="http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/audio/2008/11/sunday-live-saa-boss-in-air-miles-scandal/">Sunday Times Editor Mondli Makhanya talks about SAA boss Khaya Ngqula</a> <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/Business/BusinessTimes/Article1.aspx?id=799723">SAA is the best African airline</a> <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/SpecialReports/TopBrands/Article.aspx?id=819227">Top-rated SAA puzzles experts</a>

South African Airways air-miles fraud

At least nine people have been arrested in connection with an alleged multi-million rand South African Airways air-miles fraud in a protrac...

10:30 AM

South Africa P.I.G.