MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Time for serious decisions on SAA

South Africa Airways - SAA
South Africa Airways – SAA
The resignation of Vuyani Jarana as SAA’s CEO – the 13th since 1998 – is a symptom of an unfixable mess that will require a completely new approach to address this expensive and inefficient state-owned entity.

The past 11 years have seen Government pump around R50bn into the airline to keep it afloat. “We simply can’t afford to keep SAA as a wholly Government-owned entity,” says Heinrich Volmink, OUTA’s Executive Director, National Division. “Just as we did with Telkom, the time has arrived to allow an external partner with experience in efficient airline management to take a stake in the airline, if it is going to survive.”

Airlines are complex entities that require a strong and highly experienced leadership to manage and compete with other operators, if they are going to run profitably. It is a highly competitive industry and the new SAA leadership will need to act efficiently, independently and in the interest of the airline – this would entail freedom from political interference.

If we are to recover economically, South Africa cannot afford to lose more money on failing state-owned entities.

OUTA is not surprised by Mr Jarana’s resignation given the obstacles he faced in carrying out his duties. A successful turnaround at SAA will require all hands on deck. This includes bringing labour unions on board, as the solutions will require a balance between job protection and cost reduction. We trust that Government will now use this opportunity to make some hard decisions about the future of the airline.

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Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.