Durban - The ANC Youth League in eThekwini Region has called for Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s head for allegedly hogging transformation at the SA Airways (SAA) through political interference.
Addressing the media in Durban yesterday, ANCYL eThekwini Regional Secretary Thinta Cibane said it was reflecting the views of top league structures when it said Gordhan “must go with immediate effect from the cabinet”.
“As young people we are going to defend the president because he realised there was something wrong with this man (Gordhan). He was right when you look at SAA,” Cibane said.
The youth league’s charge of lack of transformation at SAA came after the ANC Women’s League had last week made similar allegations.
The ANCWL had alleged that the state-owned company was benefiting a few white companies, including one from America.
The league alleged that the state-owned airline’s board, whose chairwoman is Dudu Myeni, an ally of President Jacob Zuma, could not carry out transformation because of Gordhan’s appointment of his “yes-sir” people to serve in the board.
Cibane said there was hope that the airline would be transformed when it was moved from the Department of Public Enterprises to the National Treasury three years ago.
But Cibane said instead of transforming, SAA had become “a banana republic”.
“Pravin Gordhan is currently doing nothing to transform that institution. Instead, he is continuing in an accumulation path with capitalists he is collaborating with.
“There is nowhere where there is such interference in any state enterprise like we have at SAA,” said Cibane.
He alleged that through his self-appointed board members, Gordhan had secured his own interests at SAA.
Cibane said unlike in other public companies, SAA would award contracts of “up to 40” to white companies.
“It is 23 years into democracy, and 98% of that R24 billion is still in the same hands it was during apartheid,” he said.
He called for the employment of more black pilots as currently “SAA only have four black pilots out of more than 200”.
“Those pilots enjoy benefits even ministers don’t enjoy. When you are a pilot at SAA, you are guaranteed that you are rich for life; you fly for free and everything is for free,” said Cibane.
He said that while Gordhan was failing to transform the airline, he was busy accusing his comrades within the ruling party of being corrupt.
“We believe Gordhan must go, and he must go immediately because SAA is a typical example of why he must go,” he said.
ANCYL eThekwini Region spokesman Thulisa Ndlela said Gordhan was taking the side of the monopoly capitalists in a “tug-of-war” against transformation.
When contacted for comment, National Treasury spokeswoman Yolisa Tyantsi said: “They can say whatever they want, but we are not going to comment.”