Nepotism charge at ‘SAA 2.0’ as staff apparently filched from Airlink

Even as Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan maintains a veil of secrecy over plans to sell South African Airways (SAA), allegations of intellectual property misuse and jobs for pals nepotism have emerged at the struggling national carrier.

The nepotism allegations surround the appointment of four former Airlink staffers, who are now SAA sales and marketing employees, with former Airlink marketing manager Carla da Silva at the centre of the controversy.

Questionable hiring practices

Da Silva, now SAA’s head of marketing, allegedly poached the Airlink staffers under questionable circumstances, which include publishing near carbon copies of Airlink job descriptions as SAA vacancies and appointing the four in her new department at the flag carrier without following proper procedures.

This is all according to a whistle-blower e-mail reporting the claims to SAA management last December, which has been seen by Saturday Citizen.

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In the mail to SAA’s hotline, the whistle-blower alleged that Da Silva had fashioned vacancies at SAA to suit the employment conditions and functions of her Airlink colleagues.

The whistle-blower’s e-mail further insinuated that former and current SAA staffers were not afforded first bite because Da Silva introduced the poached staff within days of a public advertisement on SAA’s website.

Further allegations of leveraging Airlink intellectual property to the benefit of SAA were levelled at SAA chief executive Professor John Lamola by Airlink’s Rodger Foster in a letter Saturday Citizen has seen.

The correspondence was dated 19 January and referred to a meeting between the company leaders two days prior.

In it, Foster detailed several actions by Da Silva he felt were tantamount to misconduct, including approaches to Airlink commercial partners within weeks of Da Silva joining SAA, as well as commission adjustments in Namibia to match trade deals Airlink had in place.

After eight days, SAA had still not responded to Saturday Citizen’s questions regarding Da Silva, nor the accusations of jobs for pals. SAA did not share, as requested, verified copies of internal advertisements for the vacancies, nor answer questions relating to an internal investigation into the allegations made by Foster.

It also did not respond to concerns in the whistle-blower’s report. Foster said: “We are surprised that a personal letter addressed to SAA’s CEO has found its way to you [Saturday Citizen].

“Nevertheless, Professor Lamola responded to the letter with integrity and we are confident he has dealt with the matter. We cannot comment on conjecture and rumours. However, the contents of the letter speak for themselves.”

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He would not be drawn to answer specific questions on matters, included in his correspondence to Lamola. National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola was not surprised by the allegations.

“Numsa has noted the e-mails which allege SAA management is reserving jobs for pals.

“This comes as no surprise,” she said, adding SAA employs selectively.

“They are bringing new people in who are close to management, who have never worked for SAA. The mismanagement of the airline continues unabated.”

Hlubi-Majola said the union was dismayed that SAA did not prioritise re-employment or provide opportunity preference to employees retrenched during the business rescue process. The Democratic Alliance’s Alf Lees shared a similar sentiment.

SAA 2.0 ‘pretty much the same

“I am not surprised to learn this, as SAA 2.0 is pretty much the same as the pre-business rescue entity.

“It’s just opaquer, with more question marks over its viability and by how much the taxpayer would have to bail it out next.

“The integrity of its management is once again brought into question, should these allegations be true.”

In parliament this week, Gordhan tried unsuccessfully to force members of an oversight committee to sign nondisclosure agreements before handing over documents relating to the proposed sale of SAA to the Takatso consortium.

He cited business confidentiality as the reason. Earlier, SAA finally produced its financial statements, which have been delayed for years.

Among other things, they revealed the airline had lost almost R800 million in the past nine months of trading.

In an effort to get back on to a better financial footing, SAA has reopened, or is planning to reopen, a number of foreign routes.

On its domestic flights, it has “wet leased” Boeing 737s from companies in Europe. A wet lease hire fee includes the crews.