Cyril warns defence force to watch what it hires after trips in 'dodgy' jets

President Cyril Ramaphosa has confronted Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula over his unhappiness about having to use private jets owned by a dodgy individual during recent official trips.

According to insiders, Ramaphosa sought an assurance from Mapisa-Nqakula that any planes chartered for him by the South African National Defence Force would be vetted to prevent "further embarrassment".

The Sunday Times understands that Ramaphosa was fuming when it came to light that the plane he boarded when he flew to Botswana last month was owned by controversial businessman Zunaid Moti.

Before Ramaphosa boarded a jet yesterday for a trip to Mozambique and Zimbabwe, he wanted to know that he would not be left red-faced again.

Senior government officials, who asked not to be named, said Ramaphosa wanted to know from Mapisa-Nqakula, why private aircraft were repeatedly leased for his travels.

He wanted to know whether the owners of the jets leased through Execujet and National Airways Corporation (NAC) were properly vetted to avoid his administration being left without answers if questioned.

Ramaphosa's spokeswoman, Khusela Diko, confirmed that Ramaphosa raised the matter and wanted an overhaul of the relevant systems. "The president has expressed his displeasure with the privately owned aircraft leased in execution of duties as head of state," she said.

Diko confirmed that Ramaphosa had expressed concern at the cost of leasing private aircraft by the defence force.

"Also, the president said that when he travels for official duty there must be the flying of the South African flag, and that can only be done on SANDF planes," she said.

The Sunday Times understands that Ramaphosa was told that Inkwazi, the Boeing 737 presidential jet, was in for repairs and had not flown since August.

It is understood that the air force's Falcon 900, a French-built corporate jet used to carry Ramaphosa when he was deputy president, was also grounded.

Ramaphosa asked why the owners of the leased jets had not been thoroughly vetted. He also noted that air force pilots did not get enough flight time as a result of outsourcing trips.

Mapisa-Nqakula's spokesperson, Joy Peters, confirmed that Ramaphosa expressed his unhappiness.

This was not the first time Ramaphosa has been embarrassed by being given a chartered plane belonging to a controversial figure. In 2015, he travelled to Japan on a jet owned by the Guptas. Ramaphosa was deputy president at the time.

Earlier this month, Mapisa-Nqakula told parliament that she was reviewing the process of procuring private aircraft for presidential flights.

She said information about the aircraft's owners was not part of the agreement with aircraft companies, but that she was seeking to review this. A parliamentary reply last year revealed that the Department of Defence had overspent on VVIP flights by R22.5-million since 2015.

Mapisa-Nqakula said the department's budget for VVIP flights in the 2016-17 financial year was R26.8-million. However, it had spent more than R61-million.

In 2015, thedefence force's acquisitions agency, Armscor, sought to acquire a presidential jet that would have cost taxpayers about R4-billion.

Since the announcement of that acquisition process - and the subsequent controversy over its expense - the purchase appears to have been put on ice.

The Department of Defence wanted an aircraft that would have the capacity to carry at least 30 passengers and would be able to fly to Moscow and New York without landing to refuel en route.

• This story has been corrected. In the original version we stated that Defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s spokeswoman, Joy Peters, confirmed the discussion had taken place between her and President Cyril Ramaphosa about his unhappiness about the use of jets owned by dodgy individuals. In fact Peters confirmed that Ramaphosa had expressed his unhappiness about the leasing of private jets. She did not confirm a discussion between the two. We regret the error.