Question NW471 to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
15 April 2016 - NW471
Marais, Mr S to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
(1)With reference to her reply to question 3524 on 19 October 2015, and subsequent reports that the procurement of a new VIP jet by Armaments Corporation of SA for use by the President of the Republic, Mr Jacob G Zuma, has commenced, (a) what is the status of this procurement process and (b) when will the (i) Joint Standing Committee on Defence and (ii) the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans be briefed by her on the progress made with the procurement process to date; (2) whether the procurement of the specified VIP jet will be funded from the Special Defence Account; if not, how will the specified jet be funded; if so, what steps will be taken to ensure that the specified VIP jet will be procured at the lowest possible cost given the country’s current dire economic situation; (3) how much (a) has been budgeted for the new VIP jet and (b) will it cost?
Reply:
The Department established a Task Team comprising relevant units of the department, the Airforce and Armscor to advise on the most viable and suitable acquisition option including cost implications thereof for this project.
The Task Team already issued public communication on the progress in this regard during a press briefing in November 2015.