Lawyers hired to probe SAA CEO

Kalawe has been suspended for the past three months.

SAA was still not able to say publicly what Kalawe had been accused of, or was being investigated for, because the matter was "very sensitive", Myeni said in an interview last week.

The Treasury, the airline's new shareholder, has demanded SAA straighten out its prolonged governance problems as part of an agreement it reached with the airline in order to give it a guarantee of R6.5bn.

The Treasury intends to appoint a new board before the end of next month to replace the four-member interim board.

The interim board was installed as an emergency measure after several members of the former board resigned.

Myeni and her close ally Yakhe Kwinana remained after the last board collapsed.

The other two members of the interim board are Anthony Dixon, an accountant, and aviation specialist John Tambi, both appointed by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.

Myeni and Kwinana were cited in a letter signed by six of the former board's independent directors as being the reason behind the airline not making progress on its turnaround plan.

Myeni has tried to have Kalawe removed from the airline since early last year, citing a string of alleged irregularities which Mr Kalawe has dismissed.

He has said he expected to be sabotaged as the new head of the airline, which has a history of leadership instability at executive and board level.

Kalawe was appointed to implement a long-term turnaround plan but was suspended at the end of October in a move that was headed by Myeni.

His suspension angered Brown, who insisted he be reinstated but Myeni defied the order.

SAA reported a more than doubling of its loss to R2.55bn in the 2013-14 financial period, from R1.17bn in the previous year. A R6.5bn guarantee was extended to the airline to secure its status as a going concern, allowing it to publish long-overdue financial statements.

Last week Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said SAA had two problems: governance and a highly competitive environment.

Asked why Kalawe was suspended, MMyeni said: "We never talk about those things in the media. It is a matter that is very sensitive," he is a father, he is the head of his family, he has got children."

Myeni also declined to discuss the terms of reference of the investigation of Kalawe.

The Treasury yesterday referred all queries regarding the investigation, and its independence, to the SAA board.

When pressed about the lack of transparency from the board regarding Kalawe's three-month-long suspension, Treasury spokesman Jabulani Sikhakhane said yesterday: "What you are implying is a process where this matter is discussed at FNB Stadium in front of an audience, with Jerry Springer conducting the proceedings."

Kalawe could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Source: Business Day