Bujumbura — The national assembly has readjusted the parliamentarian commission which will probe into the controversial sale of the Falcon 50 presidential jet.

The first commission was designated on 4th October 2007, but was contested by opposition members of parliament who claimed that the commission had a limited capacity to carry out an investigation of such a magnitude that requires knowledge of law, finance and bidding.

This commission is led by Mrs Chantal Ruvakubusa, a member of the parliament from MRC-Rurenzangemero and a close ally of the ruling party since the 2005 electoral campaign. This commission is composed of 10 people, five of whom are from the ruling party, CNDD-FDD.

The first commission became controversial before it began its investigation since it was considered to be an attempt of the ruling party to conceal its involvement in the sale of the middle-sized jet, Falcon 50.

The former information minister and spokesman of the government, Karenga Ramazani, who is currently minister in charge of the Regional Integration, failed to justify this sale when he undiplomatically stated in front of ambassadors to Burundi that â-šthe government was elected by the people and it could even have given it away for free if it wanted."

The setup of this commission was requested by opposition parties in their recent talks with the head of state. The World Bank has also conditioned the disbursement of more than 20 billion of francs on the results of the parliamentarian probe.

Independent sources indicate that the sale of Falcon 50 to the lowest bidder made the national treasury lose more than three million American dollars. The sale of Falcon 50 was the first case of embezzlement that stained the ruling party and the government of Pierre Nkurunziza.

The former leader of CNDD-FDD, Hussein Radjabu, and the head of State, President Pierre Nkurunziza, were the first ones to declare that this plane was having technical difficulties, although the repair service said that this was not the case.

The president of the Republic has managed to get another plane from Sudan to replace Falcon 50. It is now on the tarmac of the International Airport of Bujumbura. It is an old Antonov 30 that some people in Bujumbura call A flying Coffin."

It is still unknown if this plane is a donation from Sudan or whether it was purchased. Another economic scandal could arise if this old and slow plane was bought.