Cabinet has approved the appointment of John Lamola as permanent CEO of South African Airways (SAA) despite claims by political parties that this is marred by political interference. He has been SAA’s acting CEO for the past three years.

The appointment was approved at a Cabinet meeting on February 26 when Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy proposed Lamola contrary to the SAA board’s recommendation, reports News24.

On February 25, News24 reported that Creecy would choose Lamola after the ANC’s deployment committee and Deputy President Paul Mashatile gave the nod.

This was despite Lamola ranking third in a competency assessment after Allan Kilavuka, CEO of Kenya Airways and the board’s preferred candidate, and Philip Saunders, a former acting CEO and CCO of SAA.

The DA has reported Creecy and Mashatile to the Public Protector for undue political interference in the appointment process. Additionally, Rise Mzansi has threatened to explore further parliamentary and legislative mechanisms if the SAA board, Transport Minister and Deputy President do not provide substantiated responses to the allegations.

In a statement, Creecy pointed out that Kilavuka is not a South African citizen. “The SAA board chair advised that all candidates were appointable and the shareholder (Minister) should approve the most appropriate candidate for appointment having taken all factors into consideration.

“Over the past two years, Prof Lamola, in his capacity as acting CEO, has steered SAA to conclude three years of outstanding audits and, in the 2023 financial year, to declare profits after many years of not doing so. In addition, under his leadership, the entity has expanded to fly domestic, regional and international routes,” the statement read.