The Democratic Alliance (DA) will on Thursday submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application “to gain access to the maintenance records of the presidential jet – Inkwazi”.

“ExecuJet has for the last few years been receiving repeated contracts for the maintenance of President Jacob Zuma’s Inkwazi‚ as well as a number of the South African Air Force’s VVIP jet fleet for which we need the details to assess the claims that the president needs to lease another jet or even purchase one to the tune of billions of rands at taxpayers’ expense‚” said the party’s Kobus Marais.

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“This comes after it was recently revealed that Armscor paid R230-million for the maintenance of their VVIP jet fleet to ExecuJet Maintenance over the last two years.”

In May‚ TMG Digital reported on a retired South African Airways senior captain’s alarm over reports that the presidential jet needs to be replaced because it is unreliable.

He said Inkwazi‚ a Boeing Business Jet‚ was a robust‚ luxury aircraft that should – if maintained and operated correctly – last up to 30 years.

The DA’s Marais said the maintenance records would answer those concerns and “give clarity on the safety and functionality of the president’s private plane”.

He noted that his party’s leader‚ Mmusi Maimane‚ “has previously requested the maintenance records from the Department of Defence‚ to no avail”.

“The DA has maintained from the outset of this ‘jet’ saga that there is no reason for the leasing of other jets when millions of rands are being spent maintaining the existing presidential jet‚ Inkwazi‚ which is fit for purpose‚” Marais said.

— TMG Digital