SA not under threat, says Motsoaledi on UAE president's visit

The president and his entourage landed in the Eastern Cape last month to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The visit sparked fierce debate on the issues of compliance with South Africa's immigration laws.

Motsoaledi appeared before Parliament's  Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Friday to explain the processes which were followed before the controversial landing.

He assured MPs that all the international protocols and security considerations were followed.

Some committee members likened the incident to the controversial landing of the Gupta family at Waterkloof Airforce Base in 2013.

But Motsoaledi justified that the UAE president and his entourage landed at Bulembu Airport because of the size of their plane and all the processes were followed.

"The two airports where the president of UAE could have landed without any changes, it is O.R Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport and King Shaka International Airport. There he could land and come anytime because there are civilians airport.

“The Gqeberha airport was intended to be the area where he was going to land, that was the first choice but when it was assessed, it was realised that the type of aircraft he is going to use cannot land there, the runway is very small.

“It could also not land in East London, so they realised that it was not possible to land at any airport in the Eastern Cape.

“The Bulembu Airport was found to be suitable in terms of the length of the runway, but it just needed a few finishing touches and the UAE President decided to take over that work.

And that is the only reason why had to be asked to declare," said Motsoaledi.

Asked if the country is not under any threat, Motsoaledi warned that most of the speculations and assumptions are simply untrue.

"We are not under any threat whatsoever, nobody writes a diplomatic communication when they are preparing to do something that is dangerous or threatening the country.

“And as I have said, the Minister of Police (Bheki Cele ) and law enforcement were there, and Minister Cele mentioned publicly that some of the rifles were not allowed in the country but they were subjected to all the laws of the country," he added.

He also invited MPs to the Office of the Public Protector if they need any further answers.

"If this whole drive here is driven by the suspicion of shenanigans, I would believe that this is exactly what the public protector is there for and if members believe there are shenanigans, they should equally mention them."

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