Lekota flies to defence of deputy president
The Defence Ministry has effectively taken the fall for Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka’s latest gravy plane fiasco, announcing it had “sole responsibility” for her air transport arrangements.
Announcing an inquiry into the matter, Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said all decisions on air transport for both the president and the deputy president were “the sole responsibility of the Department of Defence”.
In addition, it has now emerged that the inquiry will be broadened to examine all Mlambo-Ngcuka’s air travel between January 1 and December 10 this year.
Mlambo-Ngcuka is in the midst of another storm, this time relating to the chartering of a plane owned by IT billionaire Mike Shuttleworth.
This after the Swiss plane chartered for her trip to the UK at a cost of R4.55million broke down on Monday and another had to be chartered.
She is also reported to have travelled to Australia recently on a plane hired for R3m,while another official trip to Portugal and Ireland involved the hiring of plane owned by businessmen Raymond Ackerman and Aaron Searll.
Mlambo-Ngcuka is entitled to fly in the SANDF’s Falcon 900, but there is said to be a shortage of available VIP pilots.
Mlambo-Ngcuka’s spokesman Thabang Chiloane said her use of commercial flights “depends on defence’s security clearance”.
She plans to remain in South Africa over the holiday season, unlike last year when she travelled to the United Arab Emirates.
That trip sparked the start of her gravy plane woes.
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14 Décembre 2006 à 19:24 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
