As his defence minister won’t be answering questions about the new R4 billion presidential jet‚ Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said President Jacob Zuma must do so on Thursday. Maimane issued a statement saying he had received notice from the speaker of the National Assembly that his party’s request for an urgent question to Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on the matter “has been denied”. “This underscores the need for Zuma to address this issue in an executive statement prior to his oral question session in the house this afternoon‚” said Maimane.“The president must show leadership and denounce the procurement of a new jet in favour of prioritising the needs of ordinary South Africans.” Maimane seemed to doubt his demand would be heeded‚ pointing out that a previous “request to the president to make a statement in Parliament has as yet gone unanswered”.The demand for a statement from Zuma came a day ahead of the Friday deadline set by Armscor for requests for information‚ he said“With Parliament heading into recess next week this essentially allows the Department of Defence to conduct the procurement free from parliamentary oversight. This cannot be allowed.”..