RUNNING AT A LOSS
‘Lack of critical skills’ jeopardising SAA’s turnaround strategy
South African Airways (SAA) is facing a critical shortage of business skills, which if not addressed could jeopardise the implementation of its long-term turnaround strategy, MPs were told on Tuesday. "There is a serious and dangerous lack of capacity at the executive leadership level of SAA," the airline’s chairman Johannes "JB" Magwaza said in a presentation to Parliament’s standing committee on finance. In the past this had resulted in strategies adopted by the board not being implemented. The lack of critical skills ranged from financial, commercial to supply chain management. "In that scenario you are en route to disaster. That is the serious quagmire that SAA finds itself in at present," he said. Leadership instability among executives had also persisted for some time and the organisat-ional culture of the company was one in which people believed that "someone owes them a living and [they] have no real understanding of the state of the airline". There was an expectation that i...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.