RYK VAN NIEKERK: Gidon Novick resigned from the board of the Takatso Consortium yesterday [Monday]. This is the consortium that’s set to purchase 51% of South African Airways.
Now, Novick is a legend within the South African aviation business. He was the [joint] CEO of Comair for a few years, and he was additionally the founder of Kulula.com. He can be the founder of Lift airline, which is at the moment working in South Africa, and he was as soon as additionally destined to turn into the CEO of SAA. Novick represented minority shareholders on the Takatso board, most notably Global Aviation. The majority shareholder is Harith General Partners.
Gidon, thanks a lot for becoming a member of me at this time. Why did you resign?
GIDON NOVICK: In brief, I actually had no entry to info across the consortium. What’s occurring with the deal – which many individuals are asking, not simply me. Has the capital been raised for the deal to go forward? What are the roles and tasks of the assorted events going ahead? It was simply actually a black gap in phrases of any visibility [around] what’s occurring within the consortium. And as a director of an organization one wants to know what’s occurring.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: But why have been you not knowledgeable of what’s occurring and what the problems are, as a result of I assume you’d have common board conferences and different administrators ought to have raised the identical considerations?
GIDON NOVICK: Yes, no conferences [took place], even after requests for conferences, and [there was] no info even after a number of requests for info.
It’s an unlucky scenario when one joins an entity in good religion, and has an aspiration to construct one thing very particular in South Africa, which sorely wants some excellent news and private and non-private partnerships working nicely. It was all good intent.
We stay as shareholders of the consortium and we’ll maintain on to our shares, and hopefully one thing will come of it. But one can’t have the fiduciary accountability that comes with being a director of an organization when you don’t have entry to info.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: That is a really fascinating assertion. Did you resign in your private capability, or as a consultant of the minority shareholders – on this case Global Aviation?
GIDON NOVICK: Board directorship is a private factor. One has a fiduciary accountability, as you nicely know, to the stakeholders of that firm. Alongside that we’re shareholders within the consortium, and that may stay – each Global Aviation, our companions in Lift, and our personal airline administration firm.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: Will the minority shareholders substitute you with one other consultant on the board?
GIDON NOVICK: No. I believe that’s unlikely, and positively given the expertise that I’ve had I don’t assume it will be an interesting prospect to be on a board with out actually being consulted on what’s occurring.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: There has been point out made – and this comes from Harith in addition to the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan – that there’s a battle since you are concerned with Lift and delicate info from SAA might put you in a competitively advantaged place.
Do you assume there’s a battle of curiosity, and that’s the reason the knowledge was withheld from you?
GIDON NOVICK: Well firstly my Lift involvement was there from the beginning, so it’s nothing new. Secondly, the knowledge that I might’ve required as a director was info as to the progress of the transaction. Is this transaction going forward? What are the hurdles? Has the capital been raised, and what are the roles and tasks? So nothing to do in any respect with something commercially delicate to SAA and we definitely by no means would’ve requested that info, nor will we really need to see that info. I believe that distinction wants to be made fairly clearly.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: Takatso wants to elevate R3 billion to spend money on SAA over a interval of time. Is there an issue elevating this money?
GIDON NOVICK: Good query.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: Surely it shouldn’t be that troublesome to give a sure or a no?
GIDON NOVICK: [Laughing] I want I might offer you a sure or no. I don’t know.
Part of the issue, Ryk, is fundamental questions like: Do we now have funding as a consortium? Have we raised the funding? Have we received the dedicated funding? [These are things] one wants to know.
If you’re a director of an organization, you need to know that the corporate’s received the mandatory capital to ship on what it has promised, and I don’t know the reply to that query.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: One of the opposite situations for the deal is that authorities wants to repay all SAA’s remaining debt, and that quantities to round R3.5 billion. But the present Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana didn’t make an allocation for this quantity in his latest Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. Are there considerations that authorities gained’t repay that debt?
GIDON NOVICK: Again, Ryk, I’m at midnight. I learn what you learn. I did see that clearly there was no cash allotted. What does that imply in phrases of the deal? Again, a query concerning the long run funding and a query that I might’ve beloved to have [had] answered by the events which are shut to the transaction.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: That suggests the entire breakdown of belief between companions inside the Takatso Consortium. So what does that imply for this potential SAA deal?
GIDON NOVICK: I don’t know the reply to that. All I can say is that we received concerned on this factor with an intention to do one thing very particular within the nation, utilizing expertise that exist within the nation on this specific business. We have unbelievable expertise, we now have unbelievable expertise, we now have unbelievable managers, we now have unbelievable customer-service employees to construct an awesome airline.
We don’t want to go internationally to discover expertise, to discover folks to come and run organisations on this nation. I definitely don’t consider that – and positively not within the airline business.
We stay dedicated, we’ve supplied our assist even put up this resignation.
We’ve supplied to be of help wherever we will. We’ve had discussions with SAA instantly in phrases of how we might cooperate with them and the way we might help them and the way they might help us. So these will proceed – and the way that unfolds I assume time will inform.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: So what you’re saying is that you just, as a consultant of Global Aviation, have resigned as a result of there’s a lack of communication. But following your resignation, the minority shareholders will stay on board and keep dedicated to make this deal occur. That doesn’t sound like a wholesome scenario.
GIDON NOVICK: We’re minority shareholders. We put in quite a bit of effort and time and power into this transaction, as you realize.
For that we received an preliminary stake within the firm. That will stay.
In phrases of any lively involvement within the choice making of the corporate and the route of the corporate, we is not going to have any [say] as a result of we’re not represented on the board any longer and we can be bystanders in phrases of that course of.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: Was it an choice to stroll away?
GIDON NOVICK: Well, what does ‘walk away’ imply? Walk away from a accountability most definitely, as a result of one wasn’t in a position to discharge that accountability correctly with out info. Walk away from a shareholding? I don’t assume anyone of their proper thoughts would surrender a shareholding of one thing that might have worth sooner or later. Who is aware of if it would, however it could nicely have worth sooner or later. So there’s no purpose to surrender these shares.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: Just out of your perspective, SAA has been flying now for some time, despite the fact that the deal hasn’t been signed but and there are a number of regulatory approvals that also want to be obtained for the deal to go forward, as well as to the R3 billion that wants to be raised. What are your impressions of the SAA operations in the mean time? Do you assume they’re doing a great job?
GIDON NOVICK: I see what you see. We do discuss to them. I believe they’ve received some very competent folks there, and I believe in lots of respects they’ve completed a great job. I really flew with them just lately and had an excellent expertise. So onerous to inform financially as a result of, once more, we don’t have and don’t actually need to entry any of that monetary info. But sure, they’re up and operating. They are pretty small, however SAA is flying.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: You have been as soon as destined to be the CEO of SAA. Now clearly issues have gone very, very pear-shaped. How are you feeling with the way in which issues have transpired now?
GIDON NOVICK: Well, I used to be by no means supplied that job, and even when I used to be I most probably wouldn’t take it. I’m not the most effective CEO on the earth, by any means. I’ve received some expertise and a few worth to add – however I don’t consider as a chief government of an organization. So I don’t know the place that went to, and I’m definitely not disillusioned if that prospect is extra distant.
RYK VAN NIEKERK: That was Gidon Novick. He resigned from the board of the Takatso Consortium [on Monday].