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Monday, February 11, 2013

■ SOUTH AFRICA: SAA board suspends Acting CEO Vuyisile Kona; Mango's Bezuidenhout now in power.

SAA logoSouth African Airways (SA) has flown into yet more board room trouble as reports emerge that it has now placed its acting CEO, Vuyisile Kona, on precautionary suspension, effective immediately.

The board, in a statement issued late Monday evening, said it had suspended Kona effective immediately over "certain allegations which the board has a fiduciary duty to investigate".
"This is based on certain allegations that have come to the attention of the board, in respect of which the board has a fiduciary duty to investigate," it said in a statement.

"It must be stressed that the board has not come to any conclusion as to the veracity or otherwise of these allegations."
Source [News24]

Vuyisile Kona, Acting SAA CEO
Vuyisile Kona
South African Minister of Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, appointed  Mr. Kona to the position of Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in early December following the the spectacular mass SAA-board resignations of Jonestown proportions in October which saw then CEO Siza Mzimela and Chairwoman Cheryl Carolus jump ship citing a communication breakdown between the board and Gigaba.

In the interim, Mango boss, Nico Bezuidenhout, will oversee SAA’s operations with the process of selecting a permanent CEO (Mr. Kona was only Acting CEO) for the ailing South African national carrier set to conclude by 31 March.

No stranger to controversy, in 2006 Mr. Kona made headlines when he sued SAA for ZAR3.3million after the parastatal allegedly reneged on its pledge to pay this package before burying the hatchet with the carrier.