The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse and the SAA Pilots’ Association are applying to the Pretoria High Court seeking an order that a prior court order in May, declaring Dudu Myeni as a delinquent director, must be enforceable despite the former SAA board chair’s appeal of the ruling.
The OUTA-SAAPA application asks that the order of delinquency, made against Myeni in May, is not suspended by any application by her for leave to appeal or any other appeals and until final determination of all appeals.
Myeni is opposing this application.
“The evidence led at the trial, which was, by and large, uncontested, shows the damage that Ms Myeni did to SAA and the knock-on effects for the South African economy. SAA never recovered,” adv. Stefanie Fick, director of OUTA’s Accountability Division, states in her affidavit supporting the application for interim relief.
“The investing public, taxpayers, and ordinary citizens need reassurance that ‘rogue’ and ‘reckless’ directors do not get away with it. There will be no reassurance if Ms Myeni is allowed to keep her cushy directorships for the years of appeals that lie ahead despite the damage she did at SAA and to the country.”
Fick argues that the court could not allow Myeni to similarly damage another state-owned or private company.
“This is one of those exceptional cases that justifies enforcement. The damage that Myeni did to SAA and the South African economy is far too great to risk again. Her delinquency should operate immediately,” states Fick.
On 27 May, the Pretoria High Court declared Myeni to be a delinquent director for life, arising from her conduct as the chair of the SAA board. This was as a result of the case brought against her by OUTA and SAAPA. Myeni would, however, be allowed to convince the court after a seven-year period that she is fit to be a director of a company again.
The declaration of delinquency blocks her from being a director and requires her removal from any directorships.
However, according to OUTA and SAAPA, at the time of the order in May, Myeni was still a director of four entities, including the Mangaung metro’s Centlec electricity utility and the Jacob Zuma Foundation.
During the drawn-out court battle, Myeni’s lawyer had maintained on her behalf that there was no case against her.
