The apparent “commandeering” of SA Air Force (SAAF) platforms to transport senior government officials, seemingly including President Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy Paul Mashatile, to venues for ANC (African National Congress) political events, was grabbed with both hands by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) ahead of South Africa going to the polls this year.
The party’s shadow defence and military veterans minister Kobus Marais has it the use of a 21 Squadron Falcon 50 is “exploitation of the ambiguity” between the Ministerial and Presidential handbooks. He maintains the reported presence aboard of ANC political officials and guests with no clear link to official work for Ramaphosa and/or Mashatile “violates the spirit of the Presidential Handbook”.
At the core of Marais’ argument is a flight schedule showing LMG2, the call sign used when the Deputy President is aboard. LMG1 is the call sign reserved for the President, and LMG3 is used for the Minister of Defence.
Marais has a flight schedule purporting to show Ramaphosa and Mashatile undertook a flight between CTIA (Cape Town International Airport) and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) on 5 January 2024 aboard a SAAF Falcon 50 jet as well as a further nine flights between KMIA and AFB (Air Force Base) Waterkloof in Centurion, under the LMG2 call sign.
According to Marais, the Presidential Handbook “makes no provision for the use of the SAAF for the transportation of members of the executive and political party functionaries for party political party purposes. Ramaphosa and Mashatile’s actions are not only irresponsible and inappropriate, but also show unbridled abuse of state resources despite the horrendous state of the SANDF, especially the SAAF, whose budgets continue to deteriorate rapidly affecting the defence force’s mission preparedness; the dilapidated state of the SAAF’s prime mission equipment, with more than 85% of air platforms grounded; and clear evidence that there is no money to maintain, provide essential upgrades and ensure that our pilots and aircrew are compliant with minimum currencies/competency levels of flying.”
Marais added that all the costs of flying and entertaining the President, Deputy President and all their guests with the 21 Squadron VIP jets are paid from the already depleted SAAF budget. “The SAAF is essentially being deprived of funding to comply with section 200(2) of the Constitution which requires the SANDF to protect the territorial integrity of South Africa and its citizens. The ANC and their cadres are not only plundering the rest of government but it seems they most certainly are doing everything to bring the SANDF, more specifically in this case, the SAAF, to its knees,” he said.
Presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya is reported by IOL as saying the DA was “trying to play political mind games” with South Africans adding “lies were peddled by opposition political parties and shoddy journalists”.
“The president and the deputy president needed to travel. The issue is not the reason for their travel. There’s also nothing wrong or illegal in them travelling for ANC meetings or celebrations,” Magwenya said.
“The Presidential Handbook does not prescribe the nature of their travel that must be supported by the Air Force, because they never stopped being President and Deputy President regardless of where they are,” he added.
While not always in election years, there have been a number of instances where former Cabinet Ministers were taken to task for apparent abuse of State-owned SAAF aircraft.
They go back as far Lindiwe Sisulu, occupier of the defence and military veterans Cabinet portfolio between 2009 and 2012, who reportedly used aircraft, including executive jets belonging to or operated by SAAF Reserve Force squadrons, between Pretoria and Cape Town.
Defence and Military Veterans minister between 2014 and 2021, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, found herself similarly accused on one occasion in 2016 for reportedly smuggling a 28-year-old Burundian woman into South Africa using “state resources” in reference to a SAAF aircraft.
In 2020 she was fined three months’ salary and formally reprimanded by Ramaphosa after permitting an ANC delegation to accompany her on a SAAF operated aircraft to and from Zimbabwe. Ramaphosa also instructed his ANC to “reimburse” the State for the flight costs from AFB Waterkloof to Harare and back.
Meanwhile, in October 2022 Ramaphosa was reported to the Public Protector by the DA for misusing State resources after he arrived at an ANC Letsema campaign event in the Free State town of Welkom aboard a SAAF Oryx medium transport helicopter.
