The Democratic Alliance has called for the country’s state-owned airlines to be privatised‚ saying “enough is enough” after SA Express (SAX) was grounded by the SA civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) because of safety concerns.
DA spokesperson public enterprises Natasha Mazzone said the SACAA had done the right thing‚ adding that no airline should be allowed to take to the skies if there was any safety risk for the crew‚ passengers or anyone else.
She said the grounding of SAX due to a failure to meet a safety measures deadline of April 29 was yet another example of how the state-owned entity flitted from one crisis to the next‚ “surviving literally from hand to mouth and causing untold brand damage to the airline and Public Enterprises”.
“There can be no doubt that the airline’s precarious financial position has led to this embarrassing situation‚ and insiders are alleging that there is simply not enough money to pay for maintenance.
“It is obvious that the only way to save both the reputations and actual existence of SAX and sister airline SAA is to privatise the failing state owned entity and completely overhaul the management of the airline‚” Mazzone asserted.
“We have reiterated that this is not the fault of the pilots — this amounts to systematic failure by the airline’s management and the Department of Public Enterprises. The state-owned airlines are being run by inexperienced and unqualified management‚ many of whom are political appointments. Once again‚ South Africa is put second while the ANC puts itself first‚” Mazzone charged.
She said the DA was also questioning the proposed merger between SAX and SAA. “When it comes to South African state-owned airlines‚ two wrongs certainly do not make a right.”
The “chaos” caused by this latest crisis was completely avoidable‚ Mazzone added.
“We therefore ask the SACAA to brief the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on its findings‚ before SAX does the same. Minister of Public Enterprises‚ Ms Lynne Brown‚ should also accept responsibility for this mess and insist on the privatisation of our state-owned airlines.”
Enough is enough – privatise state-owned airlines‚ says DA
The Democratic Alliance has called for the country’s state-owned airlines to be privatised‚ saying “enough is enough” after SA Express (SAX) was grounded by the SA civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) because of safety concerns.
DA spokesperson public enterprises Natasha Mazzone said the SACAA had done the right thing‚ adding that no airline should be allowed to take to the skies if there was any safety risk for the crew‚ passengers or anyone else.
She said the grounding of SAX due to a failure to meet a safety measures deadline of April 29 was yet another example of how the state-owned entity flitted from one crisis to the next‚ “surviving literally from hand to mouth and causing untold brand damage to the airline and Public Enterprises”.
“There can be no doubt that the airline’s precarious financial position has led to this embarrassing situation‚ and insiders are alleging that there is simply not enough money to pay for maintenance.
“It is obvious that the only way to save both the reputations and actual existence of SAX and sister airline SAA is to privatise the failing state owned entity and completely overhaul the management of the airline‚” Mazzone asserted.
“We have reiterated that this is not the fault of the pilots — this amounts to systematic failure by the airline’s management and the Department of Public Enterprises. The state-owned airlines are being run by inexperienced and unqualified management‚ many of whom are political appointments. Once again‚ South Africa is put second while the ANC puts itself first‚” Mazzone charged.
She said the DA was also questioning the proposed merger between SAX and SAA. “When it comes to South African state-owned airlines‚ two wrongs certainly do not make a right.”
The “chaos” caused by this latest crisis was completely avoidable‚ Mazzone added.
“We therefore ask the SACAA to brief the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on its findings‚ before SAX does the same. Minister of Public Enterprises‚ Ms Lynne Brown‚ should also accept responsibility for this mess and insist on the privatisation of our state-owned airlines.”
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