Mozambique: President Chapo says Dane Kondic to remain at LAM

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Mozambique: President Chapo says Dane Kondic to remain at LAM

12:10 CAT | 15 Jul 2025

File photo: NewsAero Africa

Dane Kondic, chairman of the management committee of state-owned airline LAM, also appointed to lead a Botswana airline, will remain in Mozambique because the government intends to extend his contract after a “positive” evaluation, the Mozambican president announced.

“He hasn’t left LAM [Mozambican Airlines], he’s with us, he continues to talk to us, there have never been any problems, he’s in Mozambique, he continues to work at LAM, so he’s finishing the first part of a short contract (…). Our assessment of his work is positive, and from what we’re seeing, if all goes well, we’ll hire him to stay longer,” President Daniel Chapo said.

At issue is the appointment of Dane Kondic, chairman of LAM’s management committee since May, to the position of chairman of the board of directors of Air Botswana, as announced by LAM on June 29.

Speaking to the press after a presidential visit to Maputo province, which ended on Sunday, Chapo said that Kondic explained to LAM that he had not mentioned the contract with the Botswana airline because he believed it would not jeopardize his work in Mozambique.

“He could only go there every three or four months to continue providing advice under the terms he had agreed with the Botswana airline,” Chapo explained.

The head of state said he was monitoring LAM’s restructuring process “step by step,” as well as receiving the forensic audit reports conducted by the teams “every day,” and therefore assessed the process as “positive.”

“The contract, being short-term, about three months, is already over. Because it’s 90 days, he’s asking for a longer contract. And from what we’ve seen, from the restructuring process we’re undertaking, we’ll need it for longer,” Chapo said.

Dane Kondic, 60, who holds dual Serbian and Australian citizenship, served as, among other positions at airlines in several countries, chairman of the board of directors of the Portuguese airline euroAtlantic.

The Mozambican Institute for the Management of State Holdings (IGEPE) announced on May 13th the removal of LAM’s board of directors and the appointment of a management committee chaired by Dane Kondic.

The decision was made at an extraordinary general meeting of LAM, as part of the “revitalization process” of the state-owned airline. The appointment of a non-executive board of directors was also approved, composed of representatives from the three state-owned companies that became LAM shareholders this year: Hidroelétrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), Ports and Railways of Mozambique (CFM), and Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros (EMOSE).

Consulting firm Knighthood Global stated in May that it has three months to “stabilize and reposition” LAM, explaining at the time that it was “appointed by the Government of Mozambique to help revitalize” the company and “the country’s aviation sector in general.” In June, it launched a tender to contract up to five Boeing 737-700s for the Mozambican airline.

For several years, LAM has faced operational problems related to a small fleet and lack of investment, with a number of non-fatal incidents which experts attribute to poor aircraft maintenance.

✈️ Dane Kondić to Focus Solely on LAM Mozambique Restructuring

After briefly being appointed Chairman of Air Botswana, Dane Kondić has chosen to step down and dedicate himself exclusively to his role as Head of the Management Committee at LAM-Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique
where… pic.twitter.com/rO8ttQfJWm

— NewsAero Africa – EN (@NewsaeroEn) July 8, 2025