The disbanding of the Department of Public Enterprises DPE to the Presidency might spell doom for South African Airways SAA as the detailed oversight it needed could be lost among the other portfolios. Also, it will only report to Parliament as a matter of process, an aviation analyst observed in the aftermath of the formation of the government of National Unity GNU.
Commenting on the heightened interest in South African skies noted from increased applications before the International Air Services Licensing Council IASLC, aviation analyst Phuthego Mojapele said much as the industry had expected some changes, the disbandment of the DPE had dire consequences for the aviation space.
The Presidency is more of a watchdog and not a department that can answer in detail to Parliament. There might be questions that could arise which the Presidency would defer, as it is occupied with a lot of other pressing work. This spells a bleak future for SAA, Mojapele said.
He said a lot of capacity in the DPE that had been built up for the management of SAA and the aviation sector would now be misdirected, as some officials had taken the trouble to up-skill themselves in the sector and it is understood they would now have to continue with different line of work.
I am not doubting the Presidencys ability to come up with solutions, but it is not a small department in itself and aviation cannot go in there and require more attention, he said.
