Business Dudu Myeni awol as SAA goes into tailspin SAA chairwoman Dudu Myeni nowhere to be found as executives scramble to find R2.3-billion to repay a loan from Standard Chartered Bank BL PREMIUM

WHILE the board of state-owned airline SAA is battling to track down chairwoman Dudu Myeni, executives are scrambling to find R2.3-billion to repay a loan from Standard Chartered Bank. The UK-based bank has rejected a request by the troubled airline to extend the loan facility, which matures at the end of this month. Sources at SAA this week told of the two-month struggle to try and find the money, with the board sometimes meeting up to three times a week to discuss the issue. This week the Mail & Guardian newspaper reported that Myeni had missed about eight meetings since April. This has led board members to seek legal advice on how to proceed on the issue of Myeni's absence. A board member said he was unsure why Myeni kept pulling out, although "there are strong personalities on this board". Under former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, the Treasury appointed a new SAA board in September to try to boost yet another turnaround plan for the airline. "It's all hands on deck to try a...