South Africa’s government has appointed John Lamola as the group chief executive of South African Airways, cementing a position he has held on an interim basis for close to three years.
But the decision is proving controversial, after the country’s second-largest political party claimed that the airline’s board preferred Kenya Airways chief Allan Kilavuka.
The Democratic Alliance insists the appointment of Lamola “raises serious concerns about the integrity and transparency of the process”, suggesting it was politically-motivated to favour the rival African National Congress party.
It adds that it plans to submit an application to access minutes of relevant meetings.
Lamola was approved for the post by South Africa’s cabinet on 26 February.
Transport minister Barbara Creecy – the shareholder minister of SAA since August last year – has defended the selection process, stating that she was informed of three candidates with a request to approve one of them.
Creecy says one of these candidates, the head of another airline operating in Africa, is not a South African citizen and expressed her concerns to the SAA chair regarding the “potential complexities” – relating to security clearances – in appointing a non-South African to the chief executive post.
The ministry says it consulted South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the African National Congress, on the best way to proceed.
“This was to support both the board and the shareholder to conclude the process and bring stability to SAA and did not constitute any form of interference,” it insists.
Two final candidates were interviewed, and both were viewed as strong contenders, but Lamola emerged as the most suitable “taking all factors into consideration”, says the ministry.
Lamola, named as interim SAA chief in May 2022, has overseen the carrier’s recovery after it emerged from business rescue in 2021.
He has lately been steering a new strategy to rebuild SAA’s operations following the collapse of a long-running effort to privatise the airline.
SAA generated its first profit in about a decade for fiscal 2022-23.
It has been expanding its fleet and network, reaching 16 destinations and 20 aircraft by January this year, and the carrier employs around 2,000 personnel.
Lamola’s appointment is a “turning point” for the company’s financial position, says SAA, adding that its health is continuing to improve.
“His proven leadership will ensure stability and continuity in SAA’s governance and operations,” it states.
SAA is expecting to generate revenues for the government of R4.4 billion ($238 million) by 2029-30, compared with R1.1 billion in 2023-24.
