PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma seems set to live up to his image of "man of the people".
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma seems set to live up to his image of "man of the people".
On Sunday night, Zuma joined commuters travelling from Cape Town to Johannesburg on a South African Airways commercial flight.
As president, Zuma has a private jet at his disposal for travelling.
Zuma, who was attending an ANC national working committee meeting in Cape Town, boarded SAA flight 572 to Johannesburg. The flight departed from Cape Town International Airport at 7.50pm.
He travelled business-class but, according to his spokesperson Zizi Kodwa, "he would have liked to be with the people in the economy class but he could not change the arrangement made by those who booked his flight".
Kodwa said Zuma's flying on a commercial flight was in line with the commitment he made during his electioneering that he would remain who he was - "an ordinary man from Nkandla who happened to be elected president of this country".
Kodwa said Zuma intended flying commercial whenever possible.
He also said that flying commercial was not new to Zuma because he had been doing so since he was axed by then president Thabo Mbeki as his deputy president in 2005.
Zuma was fired after his financial adviser Schabir Shaik was found guilty of fraud. This was after the court had found that Zuma had "a generally corrupt relationship" with Shaik.
Kodwa also said Zuma attended the Durban July race on Saturday with his wives and stayed to enjoy the entertainment "like everyone else".
President lives up to image of 'simple Nkandla man '
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma seems set to live up to his image of "man of the people".
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma seems set to live up to his image of "man of the people".
On Sunday night, Zuma joined commuters travelling from Cape Town to Johannesburg on a South African Airways commercial flight.
As president, Zuma has a private jet at his disposal for travelling.
Zuma, who was attending an ANC national working committee meeting in Cape Town, boarded SAA flight 572 to Johannesburg. The flight departed from Cape Town International Airport at 7.50pm.
He travelled business-class but, according to his spokesperson Zizi Kodwa, "he would have liked to be with the people in the economy class but he could not change the arrangement made by those who booked his flight".
Kodwa said Zuma's flying on a commercial flight was in line with the commitment he made during his electioneering that he would remain who he was - "an ordinary man from Nkandla who happened to be elected president of this country".
Kodwa said Zuma intended flying commercial whenever possible.
He also said that flying commercial was not new to Zuma because he had been doing so since he was axed by then president Thabo Mbeki as his deputy president in 2005.
Zuma was fired after his financial adviser Schabir Shaik was found guilty of fraud. This was after the court had found that Zuma had "a generally corrupt relationship" with Shaik.
Kodwa also said Zuma attended the Durban July race on Saturday with his wives and stayed to enjoy the entertainment "like everyone else".
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