‘It’s a staggering sum of money’

Cape Town - Flying President Jacob Zuma and his deputy to their various engagements since they assumed office has cost taxpayers more than R210-million, former defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu has revealed.

In written responses to two Parliamentary questions, tabled on Wednesday, she said Zuma and Kgalema Motlanthe had used a total of 499 South African Air Force flights.

These included aircraft operated by the SAAF's 21 (VIP) Squadron and its reserve squadron, as well as flights chartered by the SAAF.

Of the 499 flights, Zuma used 286, at a total cost of R140,515,430; Motlanthe used 213, at a total cost of R69,746,680..

Sisulu, who on Tuesday was shifted by Zuma from defence to take over as public service and administration minister, said the figures were for the period from and including the 2009/10 financial year, up to mid-May this year.

According to her replies, a total of 53 of the 499 flights were chartered for the two men by the SAAF.

The Democratic Alliance said the figures contained in Sisulu's replies, and in her written replies to other questions dealing with VIP flights, also tabled on Wednesday, were “staggering”.

They further revealed that former president Thabo Mbeki had undertaken 39 flights, at a cost of R32,130,037, DA defence spokesperson David Maynier said in a statement.

“However, most shocking of all was that the minister (Sisulu) herself undertook 268 flights at a cost of R40,581,878.”

Of these 268 flights, 188 were on aircraft operated by the SAAF. A total of 79 flights were on aircraft operated by the SAAF reserve squadron, and one flight was chartered.

“The minister apparently regularly made use of a luxury Gulfstream executive jet operated by the SAAF reserve squadron. She blew an average of R151,424 on each flight, most of which must have been domestic flights.”

Maynier said Sisulu “seems to have completely abused her privilege to use military aircraft for official purposes”.

It was entirely possible that the figures provided did not reflect the total cost of providing VIP flights.

“I will, therefore, be submitting follow-up questions to the newly-appointed Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, probing what aircraft were used and what the breakdown of expenditure was for each of the flights undertaken by President Jacob Zuma, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and the minister.

“We have to get to the bottom of what is really going on in the VIP transport section of the SAAF,” Maynier said. - Sapa