Guptagate press conference an exercise in damage control
Today's press conference on the unauthorised landing of the Guptas' Jet Airways Airbus A330-200 at AFB Waterkloof was an exercise in damage control designed to "firewall" President Jacob Zuma and members of his Cabinet from the political fallout from what has become known as "Guptagate". The key message at the press conference - which was repeated by virtually every minister present - was that "no executive authority was granted for the plane to land".
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has stated that she did not authorise the landing and, to her credit, in fact rejected an earlier request for the aircraft to land at AFB Waterkloof. However, it is hard to believe that not one minister or deputy-minister in six departments - including the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Department of Defence, Department of Police, Department of Home Affairs, National Treasury and Department of Transport - knew anything about the request for the Guptas' Jet Airways Airbus A330-200 to land at AFB Waterkloof.
It is all very well to put five officials from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and the Department of Defence on compulsory leave and to appoint a team of senior officials to investigate the matter and report back within seven days. The Minister claims that everybody who was involved will be investigated "whatever position they hold". However, it is almost a dead certainty that the senior officials will not be investigating the ministers and deputy ministers who are ultimately responsible for "Guptagate".
That is why we need a full-scale parliamentary investigation by an ad hoc committee of Parliament into "Guptagate". We need to know what the ministers and deputy ministers knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it. We cannot have a situation where responsibility is displaced to senior officials who are then hung out to dry in an effort to contain the political fallout from "Guptagate".
We will continue to work on this matter and have now submitted applications, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (No. 2 of 2000), for access to the flight plan (which is normally held for 90 days) and ATNS tapes (which are normally held for 30 days) for the Guptas' Jet Airways Airbus A330-200 landing at AFB Waterkloof. These documents will be vital in getting to the bottom of "Guptagate".
Statement issued by David Maynier MP, DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, May 3 2013
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