Africa-Press – Mozambique. The contract between the Mozambican government and Fly Modern Ark (FMA), which has inserted a team of international managers at Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM), ends in April, and there is, for now, no information about whether or not it will be renewed.
The one-year partnership with the South African company for its participation in the management and restructuring of LAM was signed in April, 2023.
The objective of the agreement was to get LAM’s accounts out of the red, and subsequently stabilise the company so that the government could decide on the flagship carrier’s future.
“The contract runs until April this year (…), but, as to whether the FMA or the government intends to extend it, only the parties can decide,” FMA project manager Sérgio Matos told a press conference in Maputo a few days ago.
FMA specialises in the leasing and sale of Boeing and Bombardier aircraft, as well as aircraft monitoring and management.
The company was invited to participate in the management of LAM after working, with government guidance, to assess the situation of the national airline. This work culminated in the restructuring proposal.
The FMA was thus inserted into a structure headed by the Minister of Transport and Communications and the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Management of State Assets (IGEPE), followed by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications.
One of the first gains of this new management structure was that, two months after the signing of the partnership, LAM became a technically solvent company.
Furthermore, as Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, highlighted at the time, fares fell by 30%, the fleet was increased and regular flights between Maputo and Lisbon were resumed.
In this context, the FMA this week announced the alleged diversion of funds from the airline’s accounts, a practice seen by the South African company as sabotaging its management goals.
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