Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota has appointed a committee to probe costly flights by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka and other VIPs, he announced on Monday.
The investigation will start in the first week of January and will be headed by former South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member Kgomotso Moroka SC and Reserve Force General Benno Smit, he said.
”It will place the public in a position where objectively the public may be able to determine whether there is a deliberate and illegal or corrupt attempt to provide what people call the gravy plane to certain individuals.”
Lekota said the committee will look into all Department of Defence aircraft charters between April 27 2004 and December 10 2006.
”You are concerned about one or two flights; I’m concerned by the whole system and all the flights that have been undertaken.
”What if you only know about those three or four, and there might be others?”
The inquiry will be charged with determining whether aircraft charters were efficient and cost effective and make recommendations on alternatives.
Lekota expected the probe to take three months.
The investigation comes after a flight, which reportedly cost R4,55-million to charter from Switzerland, was sanctioned to take Mlambo-Ngcuka on an official visit to the United Kingdom.
It followed her R700 000 flight to the United Arab Emirates in December last year and a R75 000 flight to Sun City from Pretoria.
The Department of Defence is responsible for arranging flights for the president, deputy president, former presidents, some government ministers and senior SANDF officers.
While it charters planes when the South African Air Force fleet is unable to meet demand, Lekota described the UK flight as ”irregular and way out of proportion with reasonable standards”.
He said that although the committee’s full report will be available only to the Department of Defence, an executive summary will be made public.
”There is limitation on information one may release … There may be things in the details that I might come to the conclusion it is not in the interest of the country to release,” Lekota said. — Sapa