African press review 16 May 2017

Not only is he not planning a rebellion, South Sudan's sacked army chief says, but also he has no grudge against President Salva Kiir. South Africa's national air carrier is in deep financial difficulties, again, and could possibly do with a review of its customer relations policy as well.

South Sudan's sacked army chief says he has no personal grudge against President Salva Kiir.

This is the main story in today's Sudan Tribune.

The report says General Paul Malong Awan, the former Chief of General Staff of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army said on Monday that he had no personal vendetta against the president.

General Awan said his departure from Juba had been misinterpreted and this was the reason he had decided to return to the capital to avoid more confusion and any political altercations.

The general repeated that he has no intention of rebelling, adding that if that had been his intention he would have fought in Juba immediately after he was removed from his position.

He is to ask the president's permission to return to his home state of Aweil West.

Financial and other turbulence at South African Airways

South African Airways feature twice on the front page of this morning's Johannesburg-based financial paper BusinessDay. And the news is not good in either case.

BusinessDay reports that the national carrier is projecting a net loss of 59 million euros in 2017-18, a significant improvement on the projected loss of the rand equivalent of 310 million euros for 2016-17. But the business paper warns that the forecast for this year could be overly optimistic.

That's bad. On a different scale, the other story is even worse.

BusinessDay reports that South African Airways is to review its seatbelt extension procedures after one passenger was humiliated when an aircraft had to "return to ramp" because it had failed to provide her with a suitable belt.

When Pretoria-based Kabelo Seitei‚ a frequent flyer‚ boarded a flight in Cape Town in August 2016‚ she asked the cabin controller for a seatbelt extension and was told one would be brought to her.

When that had not happened by the time the aircraft started to taxi to the runway‚ she alerted the cabin attendant and the aircraft turned back. It is a requirement of the South African Civil Aviation Authority that every passenger be secured for take-off and landing.

After a 30-minute wait‚ an attendant clutching a bright orange extension strode down the aisle‚ stopping at row 28 to help fasten it around Seitei.

And then came an announcement which Seitei‚ an English moderator with the Department of Education‚ remembers as: "We are dealing with some obese cases on board and therefore had to go back to find extension belts . . ."

The airline’s customer care department failed to investigate Seitei’s emailed complaint at the time and she got no response when she resent that email in January.

South African Airways have promised to review all pre-departure procedures.

South Africa has one of the highest obesity rates in the world.

Zuma makes ANC succession race a family affair

Jacob Zuma is making headlines on the front page of regional paper the East African.

The report says the South African president has publicly endorsed his former wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to replace him as the next leader of the ruling African National Congress.

Dlamini-Zuma and current deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa have emerged as the frontrunners to replace Zuma at the end of the year.

Jacob Zuma told a church service last Sunday in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal Province that Dlamini-Zuma is someone voters could trust, adding that she had made a huge impact during her time as chairwoman of the African Union commission.

President Zuma said Dlamini-Zuma's distinctive abilities explained why the late President Nelson Mandela had appointed her as health minister when he established his first cabinet after the 1994 elections.