DA calls for Minister to appear before JSCD over VVIP jet

19 August 2016

The DA has on several occasions written to the Chairpersons of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence to instruct the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to appear before the Committee this term for a briefing on the situation regarding the presidential jet, Inkwazi.

Despite these repeated calls for the committee to act, there has been no provision made in the committee’s third term to deal with this matter, which is simply unacceptable. To add insult to injury, the meeting scheduled for today, in which the DA would have raised this concern again, has also been cancelled, further delaying the exercise of any oversight in this regard.

This Minister has to date been evasive in answering questions and the committee has a duty to conduct this probe. A sitting of this committee would not jeopardise the “national security” that has, in the past, been used as a pretext to avoid scrutiny in matters of defence.

As the leasing and acquisition of a new presidential jet will be an extremely large budget item, it is crucial that the committee be apprised of the reasons for, and the progress to date in implementing, the acquisition project. 

To alleviate the concerns that the Minister has in answering such questions publicly, she must provide us with the information we require in person, in a closed session. Specifically, to allow her time to collect the necessary information for the closed session, she should prepare the following information and documents:

- Records of past maintenance and servicing of the presidential jet, specifically including instances of technical problems/faults;

- Estimated financial costs (i.e. budget allocated to) the 

a)   leasing of a jet for VVIP transport, as per Armscor tender ETEL/2016/12 issued 22 April 2016; and

b)   purchase of a jet for VVIP transport, as per Armscor request for information (RfI) document M-16-04-01_004 issued 3 November 2015;

- Information regarding the envisaged timeline for both the leasing, and the purchase, of a jet for VVIP transport; and

- Records of all past trips taken by President Jacob Zuma during his term of office on chartered aircraft, specifically the dates thereof and the costs incurred.

The DA will not rest until the truth about Inkwasi is known. 

Issued by Kobus Marais, DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, 19 August 2016