Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha asserts that the state-owned enterprise (SOE) responsible for overseeing 56 airstrips and airports in the province is a complete failure with no potential for success.
Mathabatha said this as he presented his views at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Friday on how the provincial government has failed to effectively exploit the Gateway Airports Authority Limited ( GAAL) for the benefit of the province’s citizens.
This after the GAAL could not present anything of substance because there is once again a new CEO. The committee raised concerns that the changing of GAAL board members was starting to look like a strategy to evade accountability.
“We have heard what the premier has said, but GAAL will never be an entity if every MEC appoints a new board. In the five years that we have been in Scopa, all the time you meet a new board or you are without a chief executive officer,” said Mmakoma Makhurupetje, a Scopa member.
Mathabatha said he tried to apply his knowledge from Harvard University to save GAAL when he worked at the Limpopo Economic Development Enterprise. This was a year after the establishment of GAAL, which is responsible for overseeing all non-private airports in Limpopo, including Polokwane International Airport.
Mathabatha believes the business model endorsed by his predecessors was doomed to fail, particularly because they disregarded his professional advice.
Two years ago, Airlink had to suspend flights to Polokwane because the airport did not meet the required standards for emergency response services. Consequently, the airport was downgraded and prohibited from providing any commercial services.
The committee stated that GAAL was not the sole public entity facing financial difficulties. They noted a consistent trend of underperformance and violations of laws related to the management of state funds in various departments and SOEs in Limpopo, specifically in relation to financial statements.
Nape Nchabeleng, the director-general of the provincial government, said the provincial treasury was making an effort to assist the struggling departments and SOEs.
The committee expressed its bewilderment at the consistent occurrence of errors in the annual financial statements
“The auditor-general will tell you in writing that half of the departments and SOEs do this thing every year.
“We often ask ourselves how these heads of department were hired because they don’t look like directors,” he said.
