President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday shunned private planes in favour of local air carrier South African Airways (SAA) for his trip to Rwanda, where he is set to lead a delegation to the tenth Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Kigali on Wednesday.

The President expressed his gratitude, on his official Twitter account, to SAA for its hospitality on his Heads of State trip.

Ramaphosa’s Presidential jet, Inkwazi, has been out of service for repairs since last week, when Ramaphosa had to fly to Botswana for his first official Presidential visit in a private jet owned by the Moti Company.

Moti is owned by controversial businessman Zunaid Moti.

Department of Defence spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini previously told media that the reason Ramaphosa flew to Botswana on a private plane was because Inkwazi was undergoing a "C check with SAA Technical".

This meant the plane would not be available for about six months "due to the nature of this procedure".

Meanwhile, the theme of the AU for the year 2018, under which its Summits will be held, is: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.

Ramaphosa is accompanied on the trip by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Rob Davies and Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Gratitude Magwanishe.

The AU session will be preceded by an Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council from 18 to 19 March to consider the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Legal instruments and launch the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area.  

“South Africa is committed to the establishment of an AfCFTA that will boost intra-Africa trade in accordance with the aspirations of the African Union’s Agenda 2063,” said the Presidency in a statement.