ATM wants a probe into UAE royals landing in Eastern Cape

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) wants heads to roll after United Arab Emirates (UAE) royals landed at Bhisho’s Bulembu Airport in the Eastern Cape. 

UAE President Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan and more than 600 of his family members and guests were granted special permission by home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi to use the airport as a port of entry at Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane’s request. 

The president invited guests to SA for an Eid celebration to mark the end of Ramadan. He reportedly spent more than R20m on upgrades to the runway, with equipment flown in by cargo planes for the occasion, including vehicles, helicopters and an air ambulance. 

The ATM has lodged a complaint with acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka, asking her to investigate whether due process was followed in granting the permission. The party also asked Gcaleka to confirm with the SA Revenue Service (Sars) that the mandatory declaration of goods and foreign currency regulations were complied with. 

The party asked Gcaleka to make necessary adverse findings and recommend appropriate remedies should she uncover irregularities. The party has asked the public protector’s office to investigate whether: 

• Motsoaledi complied with the relevant section of the Immigration Act of 2002; 
• He complied with section 30(3) of the Border Management Authority Act;and
• Mabuyane complied with all prescripts before accepting R20m to prepare the airport.

The ATM also asked Gcaleka to investigate which National Treasury regulation was used by Mabuyane to accept funds from a foreign country.

Spokesperson for the public protector’s office Ndili Msoki confirmed receipt of the complaint. 

ATM president Vuyo Zungula has also written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, questioning the rationale behind the airport upgrades. 

“Has SA become a banana republic, where people just develop their own landing strips and land their planes?” Zungula asked in his letter.

“South Africans are feeling unsafe and very vulnerable after hearing that this huge Boeing from the UAE carrying no less than 500 passengers, military equipment, including helicopters [and] heavy artillery and more undisclosed cargo, landed on our shores without any prior notice to the public.

“Why was this visit by the UAE president such a hush-hush matter? Understanding that the Bulembu Airport belongs to the Eastern Cape government, it is just as concerning that a foreign entity not affiliated with the government was given rights to refurbish the airport to their own preferred configuration, flouting the many laws of this country in the process.

“It must be considered that the government requires all citizens to be law-abiding, yet they facilitate the undermining of the country’s laws to please [others]. The government has a primary responsibility to protect territorial integrity of the country and all visitors must respect the country’s laws regardless of their economic status,” reads the letter.

On Tuesday, Ramaphosa said due process was followed in facilitating the visit. He added that ministers who were part of the process would soon brief the nation on the steps taken before the landing.

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