Sisulu covers up: Zuma's flights now classified
The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes that it is problematic that the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu, has decided that details about President Jacob Zuma's flights are now classified.
The fact is that this information has been made public in the past and raises questions about why the minister is now covering up details about flights undertaken by President Jacob Zuma.
In a reply to a parliamentary question, released this morning, the minister revealed that President Jacob Zuma undertook 27 international flights and 133 domestic flights since 09 May 2009. The president did not use any commercial airline and all flights were on aircraft operated by the defence department. However, the minister refuses to reveal details about the routing and costs of the flights. She suggested in the reply to the question that the matter be raised in the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (JSCDMV).
The parliamentary question was part of a series of similar questions posed to Deputy President Kgalema Mothlanthe and Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu.
The ministers reply is deeply problematic for the following reasons: