December 2010
Situations
  • New Interim Director for CAA

  • 12 January 2011
  • By Various

  • The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has appointed Zakhele Thwala as interim Director of Civil Aviation following the departure of Captain Colin Jordaan, whose employment came to an end on December 31.

    Thwala moves from post as deputy director-general at the Department of Transport (DoT), with his responsibility being aviation.

    According to a statement by Desmond Golding, SACAA acting chair, the process of appointing a permanent Director of Civil Aviation is at an advanced stage and should be completed by the end of the financial year in March.

    The process will coincide with the appointment of a new board for the SACAA. The current board's tenure has been extended until the end of March 2011.

    “One of the reasons Thwala was chosen as acting director is that he is a former employee of the SACAA who served as Executive Manager: Accident and Incident Investigations for a number of years until his appointment to the DoT in June 2008”, Golding said.

    Thwala has had almost 25 years of experience in various positions in the transport industry, and more specifically in aviation. During the years that he spent in exile, he served the ANC in various capacities and in a number of countries including Southern Africa and acted as the Chief Representative of the ANC in Ethiopia. He returned to South Africa in 1992 and worked at the head office of the ANC before joining South African Airways (SAA).

    His aviation career began in 1988 at the Ethiopian Airlines School of Pilot and Engineering Training. Since then he has worked in various capacities at a number of entities, including South African Airways, South African Air Force (as lieutenant colonel), Denel Aviation as well as Gauteng's Department of Transport.

    Thwala has several qualifications including an MBA and is current studying towards his PHD on Aviation Safety.

    The SACAA’s Board and Executive Management have identified four critical priorities that they will focus on during this interim period. The four critical priorities are to:

    1. intensify the SACAA’s oversight role and activities in order to maintain South Africa’s Category 1 status as was reconfirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2008;
    2. improve on compliance and corporate governance matters as well as the SACAA’s financial sustainability;
    3. stabilize the leadership and management of the SACAA by ensuring that the Minister concludes the process of appointing a new Board as well as ensuring that the filling of vacant strategic positions such as that of the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Civil Aviation takes place speedily; and
    4. ensure improved relations with all stakeholders.

    “The Board will constantly be monitoring performance during this interim period,” said Goldman.