President Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken delivery of a US$54 million presidential jet – a Dassault Falcon 7X.
According to a <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/mnangagwa-buys-swanky-us54-million-presidential-jet/">ZimLive</a> report, the aircraft was delivered in March, but it was not put into service until this week.
The jet, bearing the registration P4-SIM, appears brand new and its first known flight, according to tracking service FlightRadar24, was a flight from Paris in France to Johannesburg, South Africa, on 01 March.
Mnangagwa (80) used the aircraft for a flight to Victoria Falls on Wednesday where he hosted the Transform Africa Summit attended by four other African leaders.
He again flew on the aircraft to Bulawayo on Friday for the official opening of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF). ZimLive quoted a source as saying:
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The aircraft arrived in early March and initially landed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
It was subsequently flown to the Air Force of Zimbabwe’s Manyame Airbase where it is being kept.
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Mnangagwa has reportedly also approved the acquisition of four “VIP transport helicopters”.
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Mnangagwa Buys Luxurious US$54 Million Presidential Jet

Winning candidate and Member of Parliament-elect for Norton, Temba Mliswa has suggested that the state should purchase a presidential jet so that the president will be able to travel without disrupting Air Zimbabwe’s schedule. Mliswa said that a presidential jet was more secure and was cheaper to operate in the long run. Mliswa made the suggestion after noting how President Emmerson Mnangagwa travelled to China for the Forum on China Africa Co-operation (Focac). Writing on social media site Twitter, Mliswa said,
<blockquote>It’s good to note that H.E.’s trip to China didn’t comprise of an over bloated number of delegates. However, we need to consider the cost-benefit of sending such a huge plane with small delegations. It would be more prudent to purchase a Presidential jet for such trips…A Presidential jet would cover the aspect of security, not be a disruption to airline schedules &amp; be cheaper in the long term. It’s not an unnatural asset.</blockquote>
However, most people did not react positively to the suggestion saying that the government had more pressing priorities that needed to be looked into. Here are some of the responses,
https://twitter.com/jaystanngono/status/1036569102134009856
https://twitter.com/fatsoe/status/1036588573095616512
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Wotenga Presidential jet apa maAmbulance hakuna, mishonga muzvipatara hamuna, companies are closing woona Munhu achitaura zvema jet . It’s a tattoo reflection of the ignorance we have for political leaders
— Tinashe Zvarehwanashe (@zvarehwanashe) <a href="https://twitter.com/zvarehwanashe/status/1036576966994870272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The people who sell private jets pride themselves not in the actual selling the airplane but they say they are in the business of saving time. We must therefore convince ourselves whether the time saved by acquiring a private jet is worth the cost of such a jet in the first place
— Stanley Mudawarima (@StanSinyo) <a href="https://twitter.com/StanSinyo/status/1036565927452700672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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https://twitter.com/davmmus/status/1036576394963247105
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How about simply flying Commercial in First Class. After all we are a small poor nation. In emergencies then charter private jets…Moti's is still available ….
— Farooq Ronnie Shumba (@closetmc) <a href="https://twitter.com/closetmc/status/1036570198030118912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2018</a></blockquote>
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