South Africa will not pay for general maintenance of Zuma’s residence — TimesLIVE
In South Africa, the state will not pay for the general maintenance of former president Jacob Zuma’s private residence in Nkandla, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson said. State funds may be used only for the maintenance of security-related facilities, TimesLIVE reports.
Security costs only
Macpherson was responding to a parliamentary question from former MK party MP Pumlani Kubukeli. He asked whether the minister was aware of the alleged significant deterioration of the residence in KwaZulu-Natal province due to the lack of regular maintenance, and whether the situation required the intervention of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The minister rejected claims that his department was required to maintain Zuma’s private property. According to him, the ministry is not responsible for maintaining chicken coops, cattle enclosures, amphitheatres, swimming pools, visitor centres and other facilities unrelated to security.
Macpherson said that work at the private residences of all former presidents is limited to security installations identified and requested by the South African Police Service. This includes physical security, access control and operational support, including accommodation for security personnel.
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Dispute over the Nkandla upgrades
The minister referred to the 2014 Secure in Comfort report by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. According to Macpherson, the report concerned the improper spending of 246 million rand in public funds on upgrades to Zuma’s private residence.
In 2016, South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled that some of the facilities identified in the report had no security purpose, so Zuma had to reimburse part of their cost. The court also found that his failure to comply with the Public Protector’s directives was inconsistent with the constitution. The disputed facilities included a swimming pool, a cattle enclosure, a chicken coop, an amphitheatre and a visitor centre.
Following an assessment by the National Treasury, Zuma repaid about 7.8 million rand in 2016 to cover the cost of upgrades unrelated to security.
