EFF STATEMENT ON RAMAPHOSA FLYING ON GUPTA PLANE ON STATE VISIT TO JAPAN

26 August 2015


The Economic Freedom Fighters is deeply concerned by the public demonstration of arrogance and immunity to any form of accountability shown by the disturbing and corrupt dynamic between the Executive as led by President Zuma, and the Gupta Family.

This morning it was reported that Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa and his entourage left the shores of this country to Japan on an official State visit using the Bombardier Aerospace, with registration ZS-OAK, a jet owned by the Gupta Family and Duduzane Zuma.

It has come to our attention that the Department of Defense, which is responsible for providing transport to both the President and Deputy President, hired the Gupta Jet through a state-managed contract with service provider ExecuJet. The Jet is owned by Westdawn Investments, of which Duduzane Zuma is a co-owner. This then means that the family of President Zuma is benefiting directly from shoddy business dealings between the State and those who do not even blink an eye before financing the ever exorbitant lavish lifestyle of the President and his large family.

As the EFF, we have as a matter of urgency written a question for written reply to both the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Finance, seeking clarity on whether proper procurement processes were followed in granting the contract to a company owned by the friends of the president and his son. We abhor the flourishing normalization of corruption under President Zuma, wherein those close to the President and to the ANC get huge government contracts under questionable circumstances.

We call on State institutions guarding our democracy to investigate as a matter of urgency the hold that the Gupta family has over President Zuma, which allows them to treat our country and its coffers the way they do.

Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, August 26 2015