AP News, December 10th, 2006
South Africa's deputy president took a chartered flight to Britain that cost nearly $645,000, and the minister of defense said that he would set up an inquiry board to investigate the matter.
The Defense Department hired a plane for Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and her staff without authorization from the ministry, Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said Saturday. They left Wednesday for a working visit to London and Scotland.
"The extraordinary cost associated with the hiring of the plane was irregular and way out of proportion with reasonable standards," Lekota said in a statement.
However, Lekota said the Defense Department has sole responsibility for the air transport of the Presidency.
"Any attempt to suggest that either the staff of the Presidency or the deputy president herself is to blame must be rejected with the contempt it deserves," he said.
Messages left with Mlambo-Ngcuka's staff weren't immediately returned.
The Afrikaans daily newspaper Beeld reported that a plane had to be flown from Switzerland to take Mlambo-Ngcuka and her entourage to the Britain because there were not enough trained pilots in South Africa. On her return to South Africa, the plane would have to be flown back to Switzerland, it said.
A first-class return ticket from Johannesburg to London and Glasgow would cost about $7,400 per person, the paper reported. It was not clear how many people were traveling with the deputy-president.
Opponents said Mlambo-Ngcuka could not be absolved of all blame for her "conspicuous expenditure" in a country with millions of poor people.
"If she was on board the flight, she must take political responsibility," Motlatjo Thetjeng, a Democratic Alliance parliament member, said in a statement.
He said the party would review the matter and, if necessary, refer it to the Public Protector for further investigation.
Mlambo-Ngcuka has been criticized for similar issues previously. An air force plane was used to transport her and her family for a private trip to the United Arab Emirates last year, and she also was criticized for a 13-minute ride to a golf tournament.
She was expected to return to South Africa on Monday after traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland, and then to London to meet with investors and officials to drum up support for South Africa's growth initiatives.
