Taxpayers have coughed up about R24 million to fly Police Minister Bheki Cele, his deputy and police top brass in SAPS aircraft over the past three years.
This emerged when Cele was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Okkie Terblanche about the aircraft owned by the police service and the intended use of each one of them between April 2020 and December last year.
Cele caused a stir when he arrived at the ANC manifesto launch rally at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in an SAPS aircraft in February.
He was accused of abusing state resources and some called for him to be billed for chartering the flight, but he had maintained that he was doing crime prevention with other SAPS members when he used the helicopter. In his responses, Cele said the police service owned and utilised a total of 39 aircraft.
He said the aircraft were used for transportation and rapid deployment of police, crime prevention, vehicle tracking, monitoring of big events, crowd management, aerial photos, parachuting by the Special Task Force and borderline patrols. The minister gave a list of events in which he, his deputy Cassel Mathale and staff members were transported for official purposes between April 2022 and December last year.
These included Covid-19 operations, attending MINMEC meetings, Cabinet committee and criminal justice cluster meetings, safer festive season operations, launch of Operation Shanela and ministerial stakeholder engagements.
Cele revealed that the cost to the taxpayers for all flights for him, Mathale, staff and SAPS members came to R18.5m over the past three years, from April 2020 until December last year.
The minister also stated that R6.6m was spent for all flights for him, Mathale, staff and SAPS members from April to December last year.
“Various costs include fuel, airframe maintenance, labour and parts, engine restoration and miscellaneous costs,” he said.
Cele said that the calculations were based on total hours flown per aircraft at a variable cost in US dollars per hour multiplied by average exchange rate of R16.51 for the period between 2020 and 2023.
He denied that he was flown in the SAPS helicopter to Durban at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on February 24 during the ANC event.
EFF MP Mzwanele Manyi posed the question, saying the operational responsibility for law enforcement fell under the purview of the national commissioner and provincial commissioners and not under the minister.
In his response, Cele said: “No, the minister of police did not fly in the SAPS helicopter to Durban, however, the minister was in Durban and during the execution of duties, that is, aerial patrols over the hot spot areas during the ANC manifesto launch rally, the deputy national commissioner (for) policing, Lieutenant-General TC Mosikili, and the minister flew over various operational areas in the SAPS helicopter from Moses Mabhida Stadium, specifically to assess and direct operational deployments.”
Meanwhile, Cele said the cost of flying to a media briefing following the arrest of six suspects in connection with the murder of musician Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known as AKA, came to R176 945.63.
“Please note that there were no other costs involved,” he said.
Cape Times