Jacob Zuma’s jet, Inkwazi, remained grounded this past weekend at the Air Force Base Waterkloof while he hopped on board an Angolan plane and flew north east to China for the G20 Summit.

The luxurious Angolan private jet, Gulfstream-G550, is registered in Aruba, a Dutch island in the Caribbean Sea, and is manned by a Portuguese crew – and this is a problem. According to News24:

Zuma’s flight to China has raised concerns, because the government contract and directives governing these kinds of flights – especially those for Zuma – expressly state that all crew members must be South African.

Pilots also have to be registered with the Civil Aviation Authority, while all crew members must have clearance from defence intelligence.

But there are currently no South African pilots who are qualified to fly the Gulfstream-G550. There are also no South African pilots who comply with the aviation requirements of Aruba, one aviation expert in the VIP industry said.

Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, on the other hand, flew commercially and followed his own programme – something he prefers to do.

Sources confirm that the two landed in China separately, therefore avoiding what would have been one of the more awkward flights in recent history.

Here’s what we know about the Angolan aeroplane:

The Gulfstream, with the P4-BFY registration number, is usually flown by Portuguese pilots. Bestfly is a new aviation company in Angola that has contracts with the likes of the American oil company Chevron.

Bestfly belongs to Nuno Pereira and has a reputation for providing a professional service.

So where is Inkwazi? Well, it has been out of commission for the past few months.

Instead, Zuma has been using a Boeing 727, costing around R2 million per 30 hours of flight time. But, just like Inkwazi, the plane recently developed problems and delayed Zuma’s trip to Kenya by a day.

Zuma strongly suspects foul play, hence his hesitation to use either plane and opt for a professional service.

No one has yet to find a long-term solution to Zuma’s plane problem, however, but I think it’s due time he steps down and stops spending unnecessary money.

[source:news24]