The South African Cabinet's February 27 appointment of John Lamola as Group CEO of South African Airways is facing a political backlash amid claims of "undue political interference" in the process.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), part of the country's Government of National Unity (GNU) alongside the African National Congress (ANC), had called on the Cabinet to reject Lamola, claiming his appointment had been driven by political patronage.
The DA has filed a complaint with South Africa's Public Protector against Deputy President Paul Mashatile and Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, based on a recent News24 report suggesting that Lamola was chosen over the SAA board’s top candidate, Allan Kilavuka, Group CEO of Kenya Airways. The DA alleges that Kilavuka, despite being the highest-scoring candidate, was sidelined in favour of Lamola, a move it criticised as being part of ongoing ANC cadre deployment.
In a February 27 statement, Creecy did not mention Kilavuka by name but confirmed that the top-ranked candidate was the non-South African CEO of an African airline. Still, she expressed concerns about appointing a non-South African, citing previous issues with security clearances.
After consulting with the SAA board and President Cyril Ramaphosa, Creecy and Mashatile interviewed both Kilavuka and Lamola, ultimately selecting Lamola for his role in the past two years as interim CEO in stabilising SAA, achieving financial stability, and expanding the airline’s routes, she said. Lamola has served as interim CEO since May 2022.
Creecy stressed that the process was government-led and denied any interference.
However, the DA has raised concerns that SAA chairman Derek Hanekom may have acted on behalf of the ANC, compromising the board’s independence. The party plans to request the minutes from the board meeting to investigate further.
In a statement, the SAA board said Lamola had its full support and that of the shareholder government. It noted that under his leadership, the airline reported its first profit since 2012, in the 2022/23 financial year, of ZAR252 million rands (USD13.7 million) while expanding its routes, fleet, and workforce. "His proven leadership will ensure stability and continuity in SAA’s governance and operations," it said.
