Government will buy a new VVIP jet for the presidency, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
She however rubbished that it would cost up to R4 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuying the VVIP aircraft, we will. But not for [President Jacob] Zuma. There will be a president after Zuma. The VVIP aircraft is not being procured because there is president Zuma who will use it,\u201d she told reporters ahead of her budget vote speech in Parliament.<\/p>\n
There would be another president after Zuma retired in 2019, even if he was from another party.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe VVIP aircraft will still be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be bought to ensure that government officials, the president and deputy president, were always safe.<\/p>\n
Mapisa-Nqakula said they had never mentioned the cost of the aircraft, and she did not know where the R4 billion figure had come from.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would never ever sit here and say we will spend R4 billion on aircraft. Not when South Africans are starving and students are calling for fees to fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be irresponsible of her to mention a figure of how much they were willing to spend. She said they had wanted to get the new jet by March, but had missed the deadline.<\/p>\n
As a consequence, government had to charter planes whenever there was a problem with the existing jet.<\/p>\n
At present, government was preparing to lease an aircraft, while waiting to buy the new one.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing we are not going to do is to compromise the security, safety of our principals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said several times this year, Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa were left stranded or late for events due to breakdowns of the presidential Boeing 737, known as Inkwazi.<\/p>\n
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