Maputo, 13 Aug (AIM) – Dane Kondić, chairman of the Executive Board of Mozambique Airlines (LAM), has announced that the company will appeal against the sanctions imposed by Mozambique’s Competition Regulatory Authority (ARC), under in which it is obliged to pay a fine of over 11 million meticais (170,000 dollars at the current exchange rate) for imposing illegal surcharges and obstructing an official investigation.
According to ARC, the report on the illegal acts committed by LAM – which includes a surcharge on domestic flights to compensate for fuel price variations on international flights – was also filed to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) “which may take further action if further evidence of irregularities is found.”
Kondić, who was speaking to reporters on Tuesday in Maputo, said that the ARC decision did not take into account facts alleged by the defence, “therefore, we do not agree with the decision, and there is an appropriate forum for an appeal.”
He put all the blame for illegalities at LAM on the shoulders of the company’s previous managers. “None of us here had any responsibility for the case brought against LAM in 2020, but we are here to try to resolve these issues. The facts underlying the penalties occurred under previous LAM administrations”, he said.
He explained that those who headed the company’s previous administration are the ones who should provide answers about the case “while we are doing what we can to restructure and rebuild the company, because a strong and healthy LAM makes an enormous contribution to the development of the country’s economy.”
According to Kondić, who has been in office for about three months, LAM faces disadvantages compared to other air companies in the region because it only operates with four rented aircraft.
“South Africa has aircraft flying to eight Mozambican cities, but LAM only operates to a single destination in that country”, he said.
During the same press conference, Kondic revealed that LAM will receive on Thursday the first of a total of eight aircraft that it intends to acquire this year as part of the company’s restructuring and modernization efforts.
He gave no details of this aircraft. He did not say what type of plane it is, how many passengers it can carry, or what routes it will fly. It is currently on a test flight in Ethiopia, and is expected to arrive in Maputo on Thursday.
He guaranteed that the other aircraft will arrive in the country in stages, “to give new momentum to the activities of the national carrier.”
(AIM)
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