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Mugabe Angry
President Robert Mugabe will establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the purchase of three Modern Ark (MA) 60 planes bought from China a year ago, but currently facing serious technical problems. The disclosure comes amid revelations by some senior Zanu PF officials and MPs that the aircraft plying the domestic routes is completely unsafe.
Describing the US$22 million Chinese deal as "suspicious", politburo sources told the media that Mugabe was annoyed by the deal which carried no provision for spare parts.
Each plane is believed to have cost US$11 million (about Z$2.8 billion, at current exchange rate).
There is widespread belief that some people close to the deal may have received kickbacks the aircraft was purchased. Although the President was aware of the deal, he is
not happy with the way the whole thing was conducted as there was no provision for spares in the deal. And setting up a commission of inquiry could be a part of his recent crusade against corruption in government.
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But Air Zimbabwe Public Relations Manager, David Mwenga, said the planes were facing problems because they were recently introduced into the aircraft industry.
Mwenga said: "It is common to have problems whenever new planes are introduced into the aviation industry. The same applies to the MA60 aircraft. The aircraft use Canadian Pratt and Whitney engines whose products are highly rated and universally accepted." |
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One of the planes crash-landed in Victoria Falls and appears to have experienced propeller failure. On claims by some politicians that they are not using the aircraft fearing for their lives, Mwenga said: "There are people who may be apprehensive over flying on turboprop aircrafts. But even if that is so, they do not have a choice because these are the planes that we use for our domestic routes."
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