Questions raised over UAE President’s visit to Eastern Cape with 500 guests and upgraded airport facilities. Image: Pixabay.
Ramaphosa says ministers to provide explanation on UAE President’s visit
President Cyril Ramaphosa assured the nation that due process was followed for United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to the Eastern Cape.
Questions raised over UAE President’s visit to Eastern Cape with 500 guests and upgraded airport facilities. Image: Pixabay.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said due process was followed to enable the visit of UAE President Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the Eastern Cape. He landed in the Eastern Cape with hundreds of guests recently at an airport he paid to refurbish.
The UAE President brought 500 people along with him for the two-week visit to a private game reserve he owns
According to TimesLive, Ramaphosa, who was answering questions during a Finnish State visit to the Union Buildings on Tuesday, 25 April, said the ministers involved in the process would fully explain the steps taken before the president’s landing at the Bulembu Airport in the province.
The Eastern Cape provincial government facilitated the visit with the help of the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), which confirmed it had inspected the airport to ensure compliance. In the 1990s, the airport was the sole airport in the Ciskei “homeland”, and it was deemed the only airport in the province with the capacity to undergo upgrades that would meet the standards for the UAE planes.
The airport was used as an official “temporary” port of entry for the VIP delegation, including invited guests who visited the province to celebrate the end of Ramadaan.
According to News24, the UAE President brought 500 people along with him for the two-week visit to a private game reserve he owns.
The royal family and their guests reportedly brought furniture, cars and gym equipment.
Unlike the infamous Gupta Waterkloof landings – the family allegedly used the airforce base to land chartered planes for a wedding – this visit was reportedly done by the book, per Sunday Times.
UAE Ambassador Mahash Saeed Salem Mahash Al Hameli told the newspaper the visit is beneficial for both countries and should be celebrated for the excellent investment it would bring.
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