In a statement by the DA, he says the SAAF seems to be in danger of being reduced to an airborne taxi service for VIP’s.
Replies to parliamentary questions reveal that millions of rands have been blown on VIP flights. These flights include transporting VIP’s on official business and on holiday.
The replies reveal the following:
• President Jacob Zuma: A total of R1.62 million was spent on nine Falcon 900 flights and twenty seven Oryx helicopter flights for President Jacob Zuma’s weekend holiday in Bazaruto, Mozambique.
• Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe: A total of R1.02 million was spent on two Falcon 900 flights for Deputy-President Kgalema Motlanthe’s end-of-year holiday in the Seychelles.
• Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula: A total of R13 million was spent on 61 flights for Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula between 12 June 2012 and 30 June 2013.
In the end, it is wrong to be spending millions of rands on VIP flights when so many people are poor in South Africa.
I will, therefore, be submitting follow-up parliamentary questions probing:
• the total amount spent on VIP flights for President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe’s various holidays; and
• whether any steps are being taken to reduce the number and cost of VIP flights being provided by the SAAF.
It’s no wonder that the regulations governing the expenditure on VIP flights for President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe are contained in a secret “Presidential Handbook”.
