So Many Questions

The government has ordered Armscor to buy a new jet for President Jacob Zuma, providing a detailed list of expensive specifications that include a hi-tech conference room. Chris Barron asked Armscor boss Kevin Wakeford . . .

Isn’t it a good thing this has come out now, or the country would be another R4-billion in debt? Firstly, the figure is definitely not R4-billion. I don’t know what it will be but it will be nowhere near that.

But the jet you’ve been asked to procure needs to satisfy a list of very expensive requirements, doesn’t it? Well, we’ve gone out on RFI [request for information] — which means it’s not binding, it’s really to gather information. The information that is important to us at this stage is to see what is out there, particularly in terms of availability and in terms of price and configuration.

But the defence force says the jet must satisfy certain requirements, and these are not going to be cheap, are they? Well, I don’t know, I think one can find something affordable in the marketplace.

What is your idea of affordable? Well, it just depends . . .

On how much you’ve got? How much have you got? That’s not for the public domain yet, because we need to go on an RFO [request for offers] as well. Do you have a ceiling, a budget? The issue around the budget is if it’s a lease over a number of years then it’s not necessarily a capital acquisition in the true sense of the word.

A pure lease would come out of an operating budget. A purchase, whether it be an instalment, credit or a straightforward purchase with cash, would come out of the capital-acquisition budget. Those are two very different budgets.

Didn’t Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula say she wanted a straight purchase? Well, we’ve asked for all scenarios. We’re obligated to do that at this stage, to look at every possible scenario. The information we receive will determine how we can cut our cloth accordingly.

But if you are looking for a new plane . . . No, we’re not necessarily looking for a new plane.

Your website doesn’t say anything about second-hand planes, does it? If you read the RFI very carefully you will see that all options are explored.

Have you ruled out a new plane? No, we’re not ruling out anything.

So if you’re looking at a new plane with these specifications, then the price tag will be close to R4-billion, won’t it? No, no. There are two varieties of new. There are a whole lot of different brands of new. If you go narrow body, there’s a huge difference on prices. If wide bodies come through at prices that are not affordable, that excludes them.

Of course, we don’t know what you mean by “not affordable”, because you haven’t told us how much money is available. I’m not going to tell you, because I can’t tell you at this stage. I’m not permitted to.

Why did the secretary of defence Sam Gulube tell parliament only last year there was no plan to buy a new VVIP jet? The acquisition for a replacement, or partial replacement, of the existing fleet has been on the agenda for a number of years.

So why did he make this statement to parliament last year? That was the view of the secretary of defence. At that stage.

What has happened since last year to make it so urgent now? It all centres around supply and demand of a service that is required. If the demand factor is sufficiently high . . .

Why is it suddenly so high? We have obligations with a variety of multinational institutions, and often there are very urgent matters that have to be dealt with that involve civil wars, coups, you name it.

Even in Africa, how often do you have civil wars and coups that demand the president’s immediate presence? We have a number of rolling conflicts in Africa as we speak. We have a number of peacekeeping contingents. And these demands are growing, they’re not diminishing.

So wouldn’t transport planes for our troops be a greater priority? Strategic airlift is on the plan.

Shouldn’t it be more of a priority than another plane for Zuma? It depends how you look at it.

Why does he need a special longrange plane to take him to conflicts in Africa? It’s not a special plane . . .

With a conference room for eight people? It may end up having a conference room for four people or not having a conference room at all. But I would say for a president it would be a very functional and useful utility.

Not just a nice-to-have? I wouldn’t say it’s a nice-to-have. If you need to work while you fly, and you need to consult technical experts or whatever the case may be . . .

You’re making it sound like Air Force One, but Zuma is not exactly the leader of the free world, is he? Our leadership generally are leaders of a continent that’s growing in importance.