Zuma abandons old jet over fear of sabotage: report
President Jacob Zuma has reportedly outright refused to use his current jet, Inkwaze, over fears of sabotage, the City Press reported.
Citing military sources, the paper reported that the president is currently using a rented aircraft, after Inkwaze was found to have leaking fuel pipes when it landed in Doha, Qatar, earlier this month.
When the plane was returned, fixed, the president refused to use it – even after assurances were given that it was 100% safe.
The Qatar incident followed another technical problem with the jet that left the president unable to leave Burundi.
Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed earlier this month, that the government will buy a new VVIP jet for the presidency.
There has been much debate about the potential cost of Zuma’s new plane. Mapisa-Nqakula rubbished claims that the new plane would cost up to R4 billion, as has been quoted in the media.
She said the department had never mentioned the cost of the aircraft, and she did not know where the R4 billion figure had come from.
However, Darren Olivier, senior correspondent at African Defence Review, affirmed that the cost to replace the current jet was about R4 billion, while the cost of a second hand plane is R2 billion.
You can read the full story in the City Press for 29 May 2016.
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