Plans to buy president Jacob Zuma new jet have been scrapped, thanks to tighter budget measures from the National Treasury, the City Press reports.<\/p>\n
According to the paper, Treasury told Armscor – in charge of procuring the plane –\u00a0that if there was to be a new jet plane for the presidency, it would have to come out of the defence department’s operation budget – which simply cannot afford it.<\/p>\n
However, Treasury has\u00a0 allocated R143 million more for the air force to lease planes for the president to fly around.<\/p>\n
Despite the tighter budget, Armscor said it would not budge on the list of requirements that any new plane for the president would need to meet.<\/p>\n
This includes long distance flights with specific passenger limits, et al. A plane that matches all the requirements set out for the plane would cost R4 billion, aviation experts have said.<\/p>\n
The president’s current plane, Inkwazi, has been grounded numerous times, with the presidency saying that it is no longer reliable and puts the president’s life in jeopardy.<\/p>\n
However experts have said that the plane is in perfect condition, and is nowhere near its end-of-life.<\/p>\n
You can read the full story in the City Press for 30 October 2016<\/em><\/p>\n Presidency clarifies Zuma jet claims<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on Zuma’s plane<\/h3>\n