S African Airways boss resigns

as they had not first received formal notice of her resignation.
“The reports have taken us by surprise,” said Mayihlome Tshwete, a spokesman for the Department of Public Enterprises which controls the airline.
“We have received no information from the SAA about her resignation,” said Tshwete.
The method of her departure may be a symbolic of how strained relations between Carolus and the government had become.
In an interview with state broadcaster SABC, Carolus described her position as untenable.
She complained that the “reputation and professional integrity” of board members had been “dragged through the mud without any shareholder clarification of support.”
Speaking to the Business Day newspaper she also said the “extraordinary” step came after “a lot of careful thought and consideration.”
Business Day later reported that board member Duduzile Myeni had been made acting chair.
Attempts to contact SAA for comment were unsuccessful.
Carolus took the helm of the already troubled state-owned company in 2009.
The carrier has a long history of turning to the Treasury for financial aid. Earlier this year the airline asked for a cash injection of up to US$726 million.
A decision on whether to grant the money has not yet been taken.
“I believe in the airline, I believe it is a critical national asset at the southern tip of the hemisphere,” Carolus told Business Day, adding: “It will always be an airline that is tough to run.”
The airline has for a long time been operating at a loss while its senior managers pocket high salaries.
In 2009 its former chief executive Khaya Ngqula was sacked following allegations of financial mismanagement, resulting in a drawn-out court battle.
The company’s profits have been hit by the rising cost of fuel and reduced passenger numbers, as the result of the global financial downturn.
In 2011 the carrier reported an unusual increase in profit from 442 million rand in 2010 to 782-million, boosted by the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
But the presentation of this year’s financial results has been delayed, signalling troubles at Africa’s leading airline.
Speculation is rife that the firm will report a massive loss this year.
As the airline continues to eat into the state coffers there have been calls from industry analysts and opposition parties for SAA to be privatised.
In another development, workers at three South Africa gold, chrome and coal mines have embarked on illegal industrial actions, the latest to spread across the strike-torn sector in the country in recent weeks, the companies said yesterday.
Tens of thousands of workers — the majority of them miners — have gone on strike or failed to report for duty due to the labour unrest to hit the vital mining sector in South Africa since the Lonmin Marikana strike last month. Violence at the Lonmin strikes left 46 dead, including 34 shot dead by police. — AFP.