Nepotism claims beset Mbeki's pilot

By Eleanor Momberg

The South African Air Force has denied that political pressure had anything to do with the appointment of the new pilot of the presidential jet, Inkwazi.

Lieutenant-Colonel Nhlanhla Dube - a relative of the director-general in the Presidency Reverend Frank Chikane - was a appointed a member of the SAAF Reserve Force in August and received his gold wings at an SAAF Wings parade in October - two months after he first piloted the Inkwazi.

Dube's appointment and the decision to award him gold wings have caused unhappiness among SAAF pilots. They claim the pilot (33) made no bones about his family ties to Chikane. They also say he only underwent a morning's basic training and two days of officer training before being made a Lieutenant-Colonel.

'These factors justified the appointment'

Under normal circumstances permanent force members would undergo months (???) of courses and staff training before becoming an officer. Pilots would, according to their training and flying hours first receive bronze wings, progressing to silver wings and then gold.

Dube's roster at SAA had been adjusted to allow him time off to fly the Presidential Jet as part of his Reserve Force duties.

Commenting on the claims of political pressure to appoint Dube, SANDF spokesperson Colonel Petrus Motlhabane said: "The SAAF was never subject to the implied coercion." Dube had applied for, and was given, a post advertised with the aim of making the SA Reserve Force more representative, he said.

Dube was appointed on grounds of his qualifications on similar type aircraft at SAA, which made him eligible to be brought in line to pilot the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) used by President Mbeki.

Motlhabane said Dube had logged extensive incident-free flying hours on Boeing 737 at SAA. He was trained according to the BBJ syllabus "as prescribed by Boeing with simulator training at SAA facilities on the 8738 simulator".

He underwent further BBJ simulator training in London and base pilot training at Waterkloof Air Force Base and other SAAF bases.

Responding to unhappiness about the fact that Dube had been appointed as a junior pilot with a higher rank than some of his senior officers, Motlhabane said the Reserve Force dispensation allowed for the appointment of reserves at a specific rank "authorised by the minister of defence".

"The appointment would be linked to the profile of the post and level of qualification. In this instance these factors justified the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel Dube.

According to an article in the December edition of the SANDF's magazine, SA Soldier, Dube received his wings on October 21. "He has been flying this aircraft since August this year," the article said.

Pretoria News