South Africa graft buster launches probe into Zuma jet bid

A South African graft-busting office has opened a preliminary inquiry into President Jacob Zuma’s move to buy a new presidential jet, the opposition said Thursday.

Public protector Thuli Madonsela announced the decision in a letter to a lawmaker from the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), published by the Sapa press agency.

The lawmaker, David Maynier, said the letter followed his request for an investigation into “what appears to be a very dodgy process to purchase transcontinental VIP aircraft, including a Boeing 777-200 LR and Global Express 6000, which would have cost more than two billion rand” ($245 million, 200 million euros).

The purchase order was rescinded in July amid public outcry over reports of plans to buy and outfit the Boeing for Zuma and the Bombardier Global Express for the deputy president — an expense the DA said was unjustifiable given the poverty facing many South Africans.

The country is still struggling to reverse the inequalities of apartheid, and 2.5 million of its 50 million people scrape by on less than $2 a day.

The DA said it wants the public protector to investigate why Zuma’s office did not go through the defence ministry’s normal purchasing arm, Armscor, and why parliament was not informed of the purchase order.