A new shroud of secrecy has been pulled over the saga of the presidency and the air force’s VIP flights and the squandering of state money after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sunday flight details to Angola were hidden from the general public, writes Erika Gibson in this week’s edition of Vrye Weekblad.
The last time a business jet operator went to the same lengths in the South African skies was when the Gupta jet with the registration ZS-OAK was traced.
Until now the flight profile of Ramaphosa’s travels, as well as those of Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki during their presidential terms, was not restricted on open tracing apps such as Flight Radar 24 or Plane Finder. Not even the US presidential Air Force One is restricted.
Ramaphosa’s flight was no secret: the presidency announced he would travel to Angola for former president Eduardo dos Santos’s funeral.
The only explanation for the apparent sensitivity around presidential flights is the uproar over Ramaphosa’s flight to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) about three weeks ago. According to the air force, Ramaphosa and 13 other passengers traveled to the DRC in an SAA Airbus A340-300.
The air force contract to use the Jeppesen flight data system lapsed in March and it could not use a VIP jet. Another reason is that a local supplier made modifications to the squadron’s number two plane without clearing it with the original manufacturer, Dassault.
The suddenly secret VIP flights, plus 5 highlights from ‘Vrye Weekblad’
Here’s what’s hot in the latest edition of the Afrikaans digital weekly
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A new shroud of secrecy has been pulled over the saga of the presidency and the air force’s VIP flights and the squandering of state money after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sunday flight details to Angola were hidden from the general public, writes Erika Gibson in this week’s edition of Vrye Weekblad.
The last time a business jet operator went to the same lengths in the South African skies was when the Gupta jet with the registration ZS-OAK was traced.
Until now the flight profile of Ramaphosa’s travels, as well as those of Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki during their presidential terms, was not restricted on open tracing apps such as Flight Radar 24 or Plane Finder. Not even the US presidential Air Force One is restricted.
Ramaphosa’s flight was no secret: the presidency announced he would travel to Angola for former president Eduardo dos Santos’s funeral.
The only explanation for the apparent sensitivity around presidential flights is the uproar over Ramaphosa’s flight to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) about three weeks ago. According to the air force, Ramaphosa and 13 other passengers traveled to the DRC in an SAA Airbus A340-300.
The air force contract to use the Jeppesen flight data system lapsed in March and it could not use a VIP jet. Another reason is that a local supplier made modifications to the squadron’s number two plane without clearing it with the original manufacturer, Dassault.
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There are also questions in aviation circles about the security clearance process the air force has to follow to ensure the president doesn’t travel on an unserviceable plane. This process was implemented after a rented plane with former president Kgalema Motlanthe had to make an emergency landing on a remote DRC airfield in 2009. Not a soul was at the airfield and DRC militias and soldiers stormed the plane.
The air force imposes a strict and thorough clearance process on suppliers that requires hours of paperwork, including financial statements and SA Revenue Service clearance that all taxes have been paid. The question is how SAA has been cleared if its financial statements have been outstanding since 2018.
SAA spokesperson Vimla Maistry said it provided all the documentation requested and SAA is a fully-fledged airline with a division for rental flights. According to army spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini the rental flights complied with the air force’s standard requirements as well as treasury directives.
Must-read articles in this week’s Vrye Weekblad
>> Browse the full September 2 edition
THE STUMBLING OPPOSITION | South Africans who lived in hope the ANC would not win the next elections with an outright majority might get a nasty surprise. It would be the opposition’s fault, writes Max du Preez.
THIS SONG AGAIN | Judge Edwin Molahlehi’s ruling that Dubul ibhunu (“Kill the Boer”) isn’t hate speech bothers Piet Croucamp. He writes that AfriForum made a mistake by taking the matter to court.
THE WEEK IN POLITICS | Max du Preez feels a little sorry for former president Jacob Zuma, wishes Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota would give up and has mixed feelings about “Kill the Boer”.
DYING WITH DIGNITY | Prof Sean Davison says he has no regrets. His mother opened his eyes to the suffering of so many people who choose death over life.
NO EGO QUEEN | The only member of Queen who dressed like a regular guy and avoided drugs and the limelight was guitarist and composer John Deacon. He was also the one who made sure the band’s money kept growing.
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