Outrage follows Nkandla ‘no payback’ finding for Zuma

Police Minister Nathi Nhleko’s finding that President Jacob Zuma does not have to pay back a cent spent on upgrades of his private Nkandla homestead is likely to be challenged in court.

Reacting to the findings Nhleko announced yesterday, opposition DA  leader Mmusi Maimane said the report had been handed to the party’s lawyers for advice on which legal avenue to pursue.

EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said Nhleko and the executive were “seeking to undermine the public’s intelligence” with their conclusion that Zuma did not have to pay any money and instead needed more money for security upgrades.

“Minister of Police  would never be expected to investigate the president  because of his position as his employee. He could never be expected to tell his boss to pay for corruption.

“The public protector, an independent constitutional structure, gave him a simple task: to determine how much did the non-security features cost because the finding is simple – that will be the cost Zuma must pay,” said Ndlozi.

IFP chief whip Narend Singh said his party “dismisses with outrage” Nhleko’s Nkandla report.

“The recommendations made in the report insult the intelligence of all South Africans. This is tantamount to Colonel Sanders asking his chickens to vote on whether or not they would like to be slaughtered,” said Singh.

The ANC in parliament said the party supported the findings adding that the pictorial and video footage evidence of experts “with requisite security expertise”,  demonstrated that certain features previously claimed to be non-security “are proper and strategic security facilities”.

“The report further conclusively proves that features such as the pool, visitors’ centre and amphitheatre were not erected at the president’s private residence, but in the outer perimeter fence nearby president’s residence,” the ANC’s parliamentary spokesman, Moloto Mothapo, said.

“As such these do not amount to any direct “undue benefit” to the president and his family.

“The experts who conducted an evaluation for the purpose of this report are highly regarded and independent.”

Earlier Nhleko announced that Zuma would not have to pay a cent for all the upgrades to his Nkandla residence – and that  taxpayers would have to pay much more in future.

He said his investigation into the Nkandla issue found that all unfinished security upgrades must be completed, and that the visitors’ centre must be upgraded at taxpayers’ cost to conform to “presidential standards”.

Furthermore, because so much attention has been showered on the nature of the security upgrades, they had been compromised so a new assessment  must be undertaken.

Nhleko came to his conclusions despite the finding by public protector Thuli Madonsela that Zuma “improperly benefited from the measures implemented in the name of security, which include non-security comforts such as the visitors’ centre, swimming pool, amphitheatre, cattle kraal and chicken run with culvert”.

The minister, on the other hand, found all such features to be security related.