Former SAA chairperson Dudu Myeni has struggled to explain why she disregarded a previous board decision and instruction from the Finance Minister to sign a leasing deal with Airbus in 2015 and instead tried to alter the agreement without board approval, says a Daily Maverick report.

It was Myeni’s third day testifying in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), where the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and SAA Pilots’ Association (Saapa), are trying to have her declared a delinquent director to bar her from serving on boards in the future.

During cross-examination, Advocate Carol Steinberg, representing Outa, focused on the proposed SAA deal with Airbus, which Myeni has been accused of obstructing.

On 31 March 2015, the SAA board approved an agreement with Airbus to change a 2002 aircraft purchase deal to a lease agreement that would see the airline flying the more efficient A330s rather than A320s. It would also save SAA billions in pre-delivery payments that would probably have forced it to request further government bailouts.

Then-Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene gave the go-ahead after requesting further financial details. He instructed the board to ratify the deal and have the SAA CEO and CFO sign it by 18 September 2015. The board made no such instruction.

Instead, Myeni wrote to Airbus on 29 September 2015 ‘on behalf of the board’ saying it had resolved to do the deal ‘slightly differently’ and introduce an unidentified African aircraft leasing company as a middleman.

Myeni maintained that there was a board resolution to introduce a local leasing company but the hearing slowed as Steinberg repeatedly pointed to evidence that no such decision was taken.

‘I would say the board made a decision. There was no written resolution but a decision was taken,’ said Myeni, who couldn’t explain when or how a formal decision was taken to modify the Airbus deal.

Full Daily Maverick report