‘YOU ARE FIRED‘ DOES THE MOZAMBIQUE GOVERNMENT TELL THE BOARD OF THE NATIONAL AIRLINE
(Posted 06th July 2018)
No money for fuel was clearly not the excuse the Mozambique Prime Minister wanted to hear when his plane reportedly could not take off due to lack of fuel, caused due to lack of payment.
The local fuel supplier at Maputo’s international airport refused to extend more credit to the airline and the PM and his entourage later used an air force aircraft to fly to their destination.
Apologies from the airline, extended publicly, however fell on deaf ears as the entire Board was subsequently sacked as a result.
The management of the airline meanwhile engaged with government with the aim of getting a cash injection which would allow them to pay part of the fuel debts and use the remaining cash to pay upfront for purchases to avoid a repeat of the situation earlier in the week.
LAM has been financially struggling and is saddled with debts, a sharpish reminder for other African governments wishing to ‘revive‘ their own moribund or defunct national airlines, not that the warning will be heeded in any way.
