USER PAYS BUT DOESN'T GET
Trevor Manuel is outspoken about the need for competence in government appointments. I would love to know his private thoughts on President Jacob Zuma's latest appointment to chair the SAA board.
The airline is in crisis, with its 10th turn-around strategy in 13 years. In the last twenty years SAA has received R16.8 billion in government bailouts. Last year the state-owned airline had an operating loss of R1.3 billion.
The previous chairperson, Cheryl Carolus, asked parliament for an extra R6 billion, and then quit together with seven other board members. The new chairperson should surely have a proven record of industry knowledge and management expertise.
But Zuma appointed his close friend Ms Dudu Myeni. She was previously chairperson of the Mhlathuze Water Board, but faced allegations of maladministration and abuse of state resources.
She also chairs the Jacob Zuma Foundation, reportedly raising funds from businesses anxious to curry favour so as to win government tenders. As an ordinary SAA board member she had an appalling attendance record.
Myeni is a thoroughly unsuitable choice that shows what sensible ANC members like Trevor Manual are up against. There really is no need for a government-owned airline, especially one that is run badly by political cronies.
Private airlines provide good service. They even pay tax on their profits instead of draining the tax-payer. Airlines like Kulula pioneered low cost flights, growing the market for air travel.
It's unfair that they have to compete with SAA which has entered the no-frills market with Mango. Government's hypocrisy is that it preaches the virtues of state intervention in the economy, but undermines the civil service with political appointments. Also hypocritical is the selective use of the user pay principle.
Why does government feel that SAA users should benefit from taxpayers' money but Gauteng's urban highways must be tolled? The money wasted on SAA could have paid most of the R20 billion spent on Gauteng's highways.
Urban roads are a public good that stimulates the wider economy. We can do without a state airline, but we can't do without roads and other infrastructure. Motorists are justifiably aggrieved that the motor fuel levy has not all been spent on roads over the years. Gauteng motorists pay 44% of the fuel levy, but don't benefit much from this. Despite a massive road maintenance backlog, the provincial government spent only 24% of the Road Maintenance Grant last year.
Gauteng has not built any new roads for many years although there is a high need because of urbanisation. Instead of fixing the decrepit Metrorail, the Gautrain cost more than R30 billion and gets a hefty R877 million annual operating subsidy.
People will be more happy to pay taxes and fees if they think that the money will be spent wisely. But wrong priorities and woeful inefficiency waste an immense amount of money.
Even good projects are often ruined because of corruption and incompetence. This is why Trevor Manuel has called for a "ruthless focus on implementation".
This focus must permeate all areas of government and its agencies if we are to be a winning nation.
Jack Bloom MPL, is DA Leader in the Gauteng Legislature.
This article first appeared in The Citizen.
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