R1.6bn on new jets
Date: 6 November 2011
Caiphus Kgosana
THE state is to spend R1.6-billion on two new long-range jets for President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe after technical problems on VIP flights put the lives of both men in danger.
The Department of Defence confirmed to the Sunday Times yesterday that a tender was out for the purchase of two new business jets for the exclusive use of Zuma and Motlanthe.
Talks are under way with major aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus to supply the aircraft.
Defence spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya said as the lead department in the purchase process, defence was weighing several options including whether to lease the aircraft or buy them outright.
"We are going to buy a plane for the president, to work with the [Inkwazi, a Boeing Business Jet bought during Thabo Mbeki's presidency]. The new, bigger plane is going to be responsible for longer international trips such as Europe and America. The current one will be used mainly for domestic regional trips so that when the one is resting, we make use of the other one because right now if the [Inkwazi] breaks down, we have to go out and rent a plane," he said.
He also confirmed that the Department of Defence was trying to get out of an R800-million lease agreement with Nigerian-owned aviation company AdoAir for the acquisition and maintenance of VIP aircraft, announced this year.
The company, operating from Lanseria Airport outside Johannesburg, was contracted by the department in an R808-million deal to provide VIP transport for five years.
The department and the company are now fighting it out in court after AdoAir was told the contract would not be going ahead.
The government charters aircraft from various companies, including ExecuJet, to transport VIPs.
Mabaya said the government would save money in the long run by acquiring long-haul aircraft for the president and his deputy as this would eliminate its reliance on chartered aircraft at a cost of between R4-million and R5-million a trip.
He said it was also important in terms of security and their general safety for the president and his deputy to reduce their reliance on chartered aircraft.
Mabaya said transporting the two men and other VIPs on chartered aircraft posed serious problems, including safety issues. Technical problems with chartered aircraft recently led to Motlanthe making an emergency landing in the DRC and missing an important state visit to Finland.
"The problem is we do not know where those airplanes were before we lease them. That is why we do our own thorough checks to see if they are safe before the president, the deputy president and other VIPs can get on them," he said.
DA defence spokesman David Maynier said he was taken aback to learn that a new acquisition project for VIP jets was under way.
"I have repeatedly asked during parliamentary hearings whether there was any project to acquire new VIP aircraft and have repeatedly been told no."
Maynier said the SA Air Force needed a complete rethink on the transportation of VIPs.
"At the end of the day Zuma needs to take the lead. The deputy president and ministers should only be using military aircraft in exceptional circumstances, where there are no commercial alternatives. That is not happening," he said.
Meanwhile Mabaya said an investigation would be launched into why both Zuma and Motlanthe were on several occasions piloted by civilians wearing military uniform instead of by air force pilots on international trips on chartered flights.
Two charter pilots who flew Zuma to the United Nations' General Assembly in New York two months ago were later found to have served jail terms for their role in the 2004 failed Equatorial Guinea coup.
Mabaya said while private sector pilots did undergo security clearance before being allowed to fly the president and his deputy, using them still posed a serious security threat.
"We have issued an instruction that only pilots employed full time by the air force should fly the commander-in-chief," he said.
Concerns have also been raised about incidents that have occurred on board the Inkwazi while transporting Zuma on international trips.
The Sunday Times has learnt of at least two occasions when the Inkwazi experienced technical problems in mid-air while transporting the president.
On a trip back from Russia following a meeting with Russian leader Dimitri Medvedev to discuss the escalating crisis in Libya, lights suddenly went off inside the cabin. It is understood the cabin was dark for a couple of minutes before power could be restored.
On a trip back from Norway, Inkwazi experienced massive turbulence that is said to have shaken the jet violently, leaving the passengers - including Zuma - fearing for their safety.
But the Defence Ministry has played down both incidents, saying they posed no threat to the president.
Motlanthe has experienced many flight problems.
The deputy president's official Falcon 900 is more than 30 years old and is said to spend more time in the hangar being repaired than in the air.
The presidential aircraft crisis this week led to the resignation of defence secretary Mpumi Mpofu and the chief of the SA Air Force, Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano.
Their resignations followed shortly after Motlanthe failed to travel to Finland as a result of mechanical problems on his chartered aircraft.
The Minister of Defence, Lindiwe Sisulu, is said to have run out of patience with Mpofu after she failed to provide satisfactory answers regarding the delay in securing new VIP aircraft for Zuma and Motlanthe.
While Sisulu has accepted Mpofu's resignation, she has yet to accept Gagiano's.
Gagiano has since been admitted to a military hospital suffering from work-related stress.
