Flying Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to the United Kingdom cost taxpayers an estimated R4,55-million, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
This was ”irregular and way out of proportion with reasonable standards”, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said in a statement.
The plane had been hired by someone in the Department of Defence without authorisation from the ministry, the Secretary for Defence or the Acting Chief of the SA National Defence Force.
Lekota said he would set up a board of inquiry, chaired by someone outside the department, to look into the matter.
He emphasised that the Presidency could not to be blamed for hiring the plane.
”Therefore any attempt to suggest that either the staff of the Presidency or the deputy president herself is to blame, must be rejected with the contempt it deserves,” said Lekota.
Welcoming a media report on the matter, Lekota said it would probably not have come to his attention otherwise.
Beeld reported that a plane had to be flown from Switzerland to take Mlambo-Ngcuka and her entourage to the UK — because there were not enough pilots in South Africa trained to fly the air forces’ presidential jets.
On her return to South Africa, the plane would have to be flown back to Switzerland.
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) and Democratic Alliance (DA) have welcomed and Lekota’s announcement of an inquiry.
FF Plus defence spokesperson Pieter Groenewald blamed the shortage of pilots on affirmative action and transformation policies.
”Earlier this year … it became known that the three top students in training — who happened to be white — were not allowed to proceed with further training as fighter pilots because of the Defence Force’s affirmative action requirements.”
He said Lekota had assured the party last year that there were three pilots qualified to fly presidential jets and a further 12 in training.
DA spokesperson Motlatjo Thetjeng said Mlambo-Ngcuka could not be absolved of all blame and had to take ”political responsibility” for the cost of the flight.
He drew attention to her ”shopping holiday” to the United Arab Emirates last December, which cost the taxpayer R700 000, and a R75 000 flight to Sun City from Pretoria.
”While she may not be contravening the law or any regulations, the fact is that her good judgement should tell her that conspicuous expenditure to this extent in a country with millions of poor people is really not acceptable.” – Sapa