Cape Town - The police ministry has spent R8.2m on four aircraft for Minister of Police Bheki Cele and his deputy Cassel Mathale, among others, to travel in since 2018, said national police commissioner Fannie Masemola in reply to a parliamentary question.
Since 2018, Cele criss-crossed the country on 85 flights to attend to crime scenes, slain cops’ funerals, imbizos, “monitoring visits” for police recruits, a presidential imbizo in Mpumalanga, a presidential meeting in KwaZulu-Natal and a Military Veterans’ meeting, among a litany of other events.
Others who travelled intermittently on the aircraft, according to Masemola, were Cele’s spokesperson Lirandzu Themba, who is a habitué on the aircraft, Masemola, an unnamed “one close protector”, Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe and more.
After delays in responding last year, Masemola eventually replied to parliamentary questions from DA MP Andrew Whitfield on December 29 and the replies were published on Wednesday.
Whitfield quizzed the police head on the number of communication flights Cele used from February 1, 2018 to August 31, 2022; the flight approvals process; the purpose of each flight and the total cost.
The “communication flights” referred to are the Cessna Sovereign, which cost SAPS R6.6m, Pilatus PC12 (R1.2m), King Air 90 (R376 000), and Pilatus PC6 Porter (R12 652). It’s unclear whether these are rented or owned by SAPS as they hadn’t responded at the time of writing.
Action Society’s Ian Cameron said Cele was jet-setting as a “cowboy”, the imbizos had not turned the tide on the crime situation and he had effectively made Masemola his “lapdog”.
“He shouldn’t be criss-crossing the country the way he is. He’s wasting money and not fulfilling his purpose,” Cameron said.
He said Cele was camera-friendly instead of fighting crime.
Whitfield said: “The minister and the deputy minister collectively spent R8m in taxpayers’ money flying around the country over the last four years and contributing to really no value because neither of them are police officers.”
He said the aircraft should be used for police work and other exceptional circumstances, and not political work.
“Cele seems to be everywhere. That’s why I asked those questions. Every time he stands up, he flies to a crime scene and invites the media. What benefit to the victims of crime is this R8m? And the answer is nothing,” Whitfield said.
He said the reasons for the trips were for Cele to “gallivant in front of cameras”.
Whitfield said he would be taking the matter up with Masemola and press him on why the approvals were granted and whether the approvals process was undermined by Cele.
Whitfield said: “My view is that Cele still thinks he’s the police commissioner and bullies his way onto those aircraft and overreaches his political authority.”
Themba didn't respond to queries.