‘We don’t owe anyone answers’ for our O3 addiction

‘We do not have to explain to anyone the decisions we take. We do not need to call a community meeting about this and we don’t owe anyone answers.”

This was the defiant message issued by the Defence Ministry on Monday in a scathing attack on critics of the multimillion-rand chartering of “shadow” aircraft for President Jacob Zuma’s flight to a UN Security Council meeting earlier this month.

The attack comes after the ministry initially tried to deny the chartering of the aircraft, and follows a barrage of criticism over the hiring of a Global Express aircraft to shadow the presidential plane, Inkwazi, and the use of an SAA Airbus A340 in the saga.

According to aviation sources it can cost up to $15 000 (R120 000) an hour to charter a Global Express, with a flight to New York taking up to 18 hours.

The criticism comes hours after Zuma flew to Qatar on Monday – this time, according to the SAAF, without shadow aircraft. It is not known why back-up aircraft were not needed to shadow Zuma’s plane on this trip.

The saga comes months after the resignation of then-defence secretary Mpumi Mpofu and the attempted resignation by air force chief Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano over embarrassing incidents and close shaves involving the SAAF’s ageing VIP aircraft.

These incidents include the use of convicted South African mercenary Niel Steyl as the pilot on an aircraft chartered to fly Zuma to a UN General Assembly meeting last year.

In one incident involving the SAAF’s VIP fleet, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe had to abandon a leg of his state visit to Nordic countries last year because of technical difficulties with aircraft.

While the air force and the ministry were quick on Monday to silence critics, aviation insiders say the chartering of the aircraft in South Africa was unnecessary and could have been done more cheaply.

A well-placed source, with inside information on the chartering of the aircraft, said if it had been necessary to charter an aircraft to fly Zuma around in the US, this could have been done more cheaply from the US.

“It would literally take one phone call to hire a plane and it would have been more cost-effective. Besides, if there was a problem in the air, what were those shadowing the president going to do? A mid-air transfer?” the source said.

“This is a total waste of money and there is something far more underhanded here. A lot more questions need to be asked.”

Defending the chartering, Defence Ministerial spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabya lashed out at critics.

In an interview with Sapa, he said the ministry did not need to “justify” itself to anyone.

“The funfair about the president’s plane must come to an end,” he said.

Asked to explain his statement, Mabya said a lot had been said during an hour of discussions, “and just to take three lines is not on”.

“Everyone knows this is not free, but those in the air force have to make difficult decisions,” Mabya said.

“Decisions are taken by the air force chief. He is a three-star general and makes very sober decisions, which must be respected.

“We do not have to explain to anyone the decisions which we take. We do not need to call a community meeting about this and we don’t owe anyone answers.”

Asked if he didn’t think the country’s taxpayers were owed an explanation, Mabya said there were accounting structures the ministry followed involving the submission of quarterly and annual reports.

Asked why he had initially denied the chartering, and confronted with audio recordings of New York’s JFK Air Traffic Control towers communication with the aircraft, Mabya said there was no way of authenticating the recordings.

“How do you know they haven’t been edited? How do you know it is not fake?” Mabya asked.

SAAF spokeswoman Brigadier-General Marthie Visser said the Inkwazi had been out of use for three months for servicing.

“Despite rigorously testing the aircraft after it returned from service, the decision was taken to charter aircraft to shadow the Inkwazi. This was done with safety in mind and the importance of the obligations that Zuma had to meet.

“The air force had to ensure that the president was in the US on time and that he was back the very next day for scheduled commitments here,” she said.

Asked why the SAAF’s other VIP aircraft, two Falcon 550s and a Falcon 900, had not been used and whether they were serviceable, Visser said they had been required for other government officials. - Pretoria News

O3 for me!!!! Zuma’s aircraft row

Not one, but two aircraft are now believed to have shadowed President Jacob Zuma’s presidential jet to New York – or at least part of the way – where he delivered a speech at the opening session of the UN Security Council last week.

Yesterday, after days of denial, the defence ministry finally confirmed reports that a back-up plane – a chartered Bombardier Global Express estimated to have cost R2 million – had shadowed Zuma’s Boeing Business Jet on its way to New York last week.

On Thursday, ministry spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya rubbished reports that the shadow aircraft had landed at JFK International shortly after the presidential jet touched down, claiming this aircraft had flown only as far as Las Palmas on the Canary Islands, where it had waited to accompany Zuma on the return leg.

However, air force chief Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano told journalists in Johannesburg yesterday that the Bombardier had indeed flown to New York and blamed the conflicting information on a breakdown in communication between himself and Mabaya.

It has since emerged that Mabaya, in denying that the shadow plane had gone to New York, may have confused the Bombardier charter flight with another shadow aircraft.

DA MP David Maynier claimed yesterday that a second back-up plane, an Airbus A340-200 with the call sign SA2205, had been chartered from SAA to shadow Zuma’s flight as far as Las Palmas on January 10.

This plane, apparently stocked with victuals for VIP passengers and carrying a crew of three for the outward journey, returned to OR Tambo International the next day.

Maynier said a relief crew of three pilots and eight cabin crew flew on a commercial SAA flight to Frankfurt, Germany, then on a Condor flight to Las Palmas to bring the Airbus back to Johannesburg under the call sign SA2206.

Ordinary passengers were bumped off the SAA Frankfurt flight to make room for the relief crew, he said.

The DA MP said back-up arrangements were “mind-boggling” and called on Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to “step in and make a public statement setting out all the facts”.

He asked why it had been necessary to use two aircraft to shadow the presidential jet, what the cost had been, and for details of dates, times and routes of both shadow aircraft.

“The real question is why were President Zuma and his staff not prepared to take a commercial flight to New York? Our own national carrier SAA now offers direct flights to New York from Johannesburg.”

SAA corporate affairs chief Dileseng Koetle did not respond to requests for information yesterday, while

Mabaya denied any knowledge of a second shadow plane and defended the decision to charter the Bombardier jet, saying it was “technically expected” for a plane to accompany the president “in case there was a problem with the (presidential) jet”, which was recently overhauled. “You see, if you are flying from SA to New York, you need 22 (air traffic control) approvals from different countries. So, if something goes wrong with the plane in New Zealand, and the plane that is backing it up is in SA, how long will it take to get it out there?”

Asked why Zuma had used the presidential jet if there was uncertainty about its condition, Mabaya said this was a “standard technical procedure” and a decision taken by the air force’s technical services division.

“The (presidential) plane flew back from Canada after it was serviced and has since been flying the president around SA. But going to New York was the longest distance we have taken with the president on board since it came back from service.

“This plane… is the most reliable plane in the air force and the newest, but considering that the plane was not in our hands for about three months, the technical people said it was necessary as a precautionary measure,” Mabaya added.

Mabaya said there had been little time between Zuma’s scheduled landing at JFK International on January 10 and his speech at the UN on January 12.

“We took a decision that the president is going to be accompanied by another plane so that in case there was an emergency the other plane will land and assist – and that we can be on time to deliver the UN speech as (SA is) now chairing the Security Council. It was a technical decision taken by the technical people,” he insisted.

Gagiano said yesterday that the military had a responsibility to uphold SA’s prestige by transporting the president safely and on time to international engagements.

“(VIP transport) is extremely complex and important to the international image of the country… Who will make the (UN) speech if the president can’t make it?” he asked. Gagiano also slammed the media for suggesting the air force’s planes were “unsafe”.

“My passengers are now nervous because they read in the papers how unsafe our planes are… They stress because they think, ‘when is this aircraft going to fall apart?’”

Air industry expert Linden Birns said the service the presidential Boeing had undergone would have involved stripping the aircraft down, performing stress tests and x-ray examinations of several parts to restore the plane to what could be described as “nearly new”.

Birns would not comment on the air force’s decision to send a shadow aircraft.

- Saturday Star

Air Force: Shadow plane was in US

The SA Air Force has admitted a plane that shadowed President Jacob Zuma on his recent visit to the United States did so all the way to New York.

“The aircraft was there because there was a time-critical engagement on the way back,” air force chief Lt-Gen Carlo Gagiano told reporters in Johannesburg.

A standby aircraft was vital to ensure the president did not miss this appointment.

“I decided if we had to guarantee time sensitive flights we had to do it. 1/8We must be 3/8 99.9 percent sure we get our principal there on time.”

He was responding to reports earlier this week that a second jet had landed at John F Kennedy International Airport where Zuma was attending a United Nations meeting.

The defence ministry however said on Thursday the Bombardier Global Express only flew halfway and landed in the Canary Islands. It remained there until Zuma flew back to South Africa, the ministry said.

Media reported that the plane was seen in US airspace and that audio of it landing at JFK airport last week, confirmed it flew using an SA Air Force call sign.

Defence ministry spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya denied that the plane had followed Zuma into the US.

Gagiano blamed the conflicting reports on a breakdown in communication between himself and Mabaya.

Mabaya said the defence ministry did not have to “justify” itself to anyone.

“The funfair about the president's plane must come to an end,” he said.

Gagiano said the military had a responsibility to help uphold South Africa's prestige by transporting the president safely and on time to international engagements.

“ (VIP transport is) extremely complex and important to the international image of the country.

“Who will make the speech if the president (Jacob Zuma) can't make it?”

Gagiano said it was a “huge embarrassment” when Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe had to cancel an official visit to Finland due to a problem with his aircraft.

Transporting VIPs was “extremely complex”.

Media reports about problems with the air force's aircraft was also making its passengers uneasy.

“My passengers are now nervous because they read in the papers how unsafe our planes are,” said Gagiano.

“They stress because they think when is this aircraft going to fall apart.” - Sapa

Zuma jet recordings 'illegal'

The Defence Ministry claimed on Thursday that recordings of President Jacob Zuma's travel activity are illegal.

This was despite the fact that the information was openly available on an American website that broadcasts live air traffic control feeds globally.

More audio in Eyewitness News' possession suggested that a charted plane shadowing the president's jet during his recent visit to the United States left John F. Kennedy International Airport just seven minutes after the official aircraft departed.

But the Defence Ministry nevertheless insisted that the second plane only flew to the Canary Islands, remained there waiting for the presidential aircraft, and then returned home to South Africa.

The ministry's Ndhivuwo Mabaya said that the recordings stating otherwise were hardly reliable.

"Anyone can produce a recording.

"If you want us to run this government based on an illegal website that records the conversations of pilots illegally, we are not going to be part of that.

"I don't have to listen to it," he continued. "If you believe it that is your choice."

The cost of flying the second plane was thought to have been about R2-million.

- iafrica

Mampara of the Week: Tubby Reddy

Reddy, steady, stop right there

IT's bad enough that a portly man named Tubby Reddy is in charge of SA Olympic sports. But it stretches the bounds of credulity when Tubby and his pals jet off en masse to Innsbruck, Austria, where South Africa fielded just one athlete at the Winter Youth Olympics, alpine skier Sive Speelman.

While the most important people - the athlete and his coach - flew cattle class, the bigwigs at the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee fly only business class, as allowed in their "policies and procedures". How many administrators? Five! Tubby the CEO, a Sascoc deputy president, a chef de mission, a project manager and IOC committee member Sam Ramsamy. You want to ask: what were they thinking? And you would be presumptuous. Had they been thinking, they would not have done it. Hogarth has some advice for our man Reddy. Next time, watch it on telly, Tubby. A mampara of Olympic proportions.

- Timeslive