Impasse at SAA result of unethical, weak leadership

27 November 2019 - 12:30
By reader's letter
The SAA strike was a dismal situation that also provided naked proof of lack of capable and ethical leadership in the country.
Image: SAA The SAA strike was a dismal situation that also provided naked proof of lack of capable and ethical leadership in the country.

Seemingly, the consultation paralysis was the source of the industrial action that cost the SA Airways (SAA) revenue it desperately needs to stay afloat.

It was a result of management negotiating in bad faith, using guerrilla tactics against organised labour and risk plunging the airline into financial distress to affect its credit outlook.

The dismal situation was a naked proof of lack of capable and ethical leadership in the country.

It dampens one's hope amidst a disjuncture between the shareholder and stakeholders about the consensus to make the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) financially viable.

Not surprisingly, both chief executives of Eskom and SAA cited political interference as reason to call it quits. That had left the minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan to appear obstructionist with his suitability acutely questionable.

Eskom, which also requires a bailout, may follow suit soon, for the common denominator in the strike is the National Union of Metalworkers .

It contends that executives of SOEs wasted lot of money without creating employment or contributing towards a developmental state.

Bailouts have paralysed the state from prioritising on stimulating growth to radically advance a meaningful social transformation in communities. Reprioritisation could have aided small businesses to create jobs and arrest some of the challenges causing the economy to become more vulnerable.

It's not a case of "nine wasted years" but a wholesale policy digression across the board.

Morgan Phaahla,Ekurhuleni