Despite calls for President Jacob Zuma to scrap government’s plans to acquire a new jet plane – which could cost the country as much as R4 billion – plans are going ahead to have the plane on the runway by April 2016.<\/p>\n
This is according to the City Press, which has seen the tender document from state-owned\u00a0Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor), which is handling the transaction.<\/p>\n
According to the paper, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is “fed up” with not having VIP jets available, and the final request for information from interested parties is 20 November.<\/p>\n
Preferred suppliers then need to be considered by mid-January,\u00a0and contracts would have to be signed by March, Armscor CEO Kevin Wakeford told the paper. The plane would then be\u00a0delivered in the interim.<\/p>\n
This stands in contrast to Armscor’s claims that the tender is non-binding. The group also refuted the R4 billion price tag on the plane, saying that media reports were reaching, and false.<\/p>\n
Neither Armscor or government could say how much has been set aside for the purchase.<\/p>\n
Rapport previously published stories relating to six new jets for the presidency that would cost as much as R2 billion. A brand new plane, at the specifications requested by the Armscor document, would easily cost double that amount.<\/p>\n
According to the report, the specifications for the jet include a \u201cprivate bedroom suite, a bathroom, and a conference room for eight people\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe aircraft must be able to carry at least 30 passengers and have a range of 13,800km,\u201d stated the report.<\/p>\n
This is what Zuma\u2019s R4 billion plane could look like<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n