Zuma’s multi-billion rand jet

Zuma’s multi-billion rand jet back on the cards after he gets stuck in Burundi

Jacob Zuma was stranded in Burundi after his private jet malfunctioned. As you’d expect, this is the perfect reason for the powers that be to once again raise the issue around the need for a new jet.

Zuma’s multi-billion rand jet

According to a report in the Sunday Times, President Jacob Zuma was briefly stranded in Burundi on Friday after the presidential Boeing, Inkwazi, developed technical problems. Zuma was in the country to mediate peace talks.

The malfunction means that the R4 billion private jet is back on the cards with the South African National Defence Force saying that acquiring a new jet urgently as the current plane “is compromising his safety and it is embarrassing”.

SANDF had to charter a plane to Burundi to collect the president who returned home a day late. As a result, deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to step in for Zuma on several local engagements.

Inkwazi was also grounded on a trip to Moscow last year, following mechanical difficulties.

The cost of the jet has been a hotly debated topic with City Press reporting last year that only a few jets match the requirements of the president. The cost of these jets range between R3 billion to R3.9 billion.

However, Zuma has said that South Africans have a tendency to sensationalise things.

SANDF spokesman Simphiwe Dlamini said of the presidential plane:”This plane is compromising his safety and it is embarrassing,” Dlamini said.

“We need it like yesterday. Not even tomorrow. It is very critical. This is not an isolated incident,” said Dlamini.

He said the outcry over the procurement of a new presidential jet was unwarranted. “It is not even for the president, it is for the state.”

Considering Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s budget speech insisting that government spending will be cut, it will be interesting to see what the jet ends up costing the taxpayer. S