New jet for President Mbeki
Date: 22 February 2001
The 2001/02 Defence Force budget, announced by Finance Minister Trevor Manual today, has made allowances for a total of R300 million to be spent over the next two years to buy a long-range aircraft to be used mainly by the President.
The defence vote reflects an extra R200m in the 2001/02 financial year, and R100m the following year, to fund the purchase.
The new plane, to be chosen from either the Boeing 737 Business Jet or the Airbus 319, will replace the currently used Falcon 900. The Falson has suffered a number of breakdowns recently and has been critised for it's limited range.
