Madonsela’s report slams Zuma and ministers
443-page report on Zuma’s Nkandla homestead comes to light.
Public protector, Thuli Madonsela, found that President Jacob Zuma acted in a way that was “inconsistent” with the Constitution and unintentionally misled parliament.
This was part of the findings contained in a 443-page report by Madonsela into the upgrades on Zuma’s Nkandla homestead.
Furthermore, the report found that the police, defence and public works departments were all guilty of improper conduct and maladministration. The report also found that the president’s immediate family members benefited improperly from the upgrades, and that allegations about the expenditure constituting “opulence on grand scale” were substantiated.
“The excessive expenditure added significant value to the president’s private property,” she said.
Madonsela said Zuma should have applied his mind to the upgrades and asked questions about them. She also recommended that he repay the State for the swimming pool or “fire pool”, the cattle kraal, chicken run, amphitheatre and visitor centre.
She also criticised the architect charged with the upgrades, saying that while the upgrades were meant to be economical, the architect turned them into luxurious ones.
Finally, the report found that the cost at the end of the project was R246 million, up from the initil R215 million.
“[It is] deeply disturbing to find that Zuma and others feel it is alright to benefit themselves,” she added.
Other findings made by the protector were:
- The Nkandla costs might balloon from the current R215m to about R246m
- Zuma’s failure to act in protection of State resources was a violation of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act.
- The main “money guzzlers” were not the security upgrades, but the private ones.
- Zuma’s private architect earned R16.5 million from project.
- Ministers must be reprimanded for the role they played.
The president is required to report to parliament by 2 April 2014. The government is expected to respond to Madonsela’s report today (19 March) at 3pm, while the ANC will do so at 4.30pm.
Madonsela’s investigation into the upgrades took two years to complete.
