Yes, you are missing something. The quote in the first post was from an inadequately-researched and essentially scaremongering South African newspaper article, as was made perfectly clear in
this post.
The MCL is not a South African Airways initiative. It is an ICAO one. It is a work in progress, and is not yet available. South Africa, and any other nation, may adopt the MCL if it sees fit in future. If it does so, SAA will be free to recruit and train for the MCL, as will any other airline from any country where the national authorities accept the MCL.
Scroggs