Money is evil, but land is not, Zuma tells chieftains

“Money is the root of all evil,” a bullish President Jacob Zuma told traditional leaders yesterday, urging successful land restitution claimants not to sell their land.

Zuma told the inaugural Traditional Leaders Indaba, held in Boksburg, that it was a pity that nearly 90% of all land claims so far had been settled through financial compensation.

He said it was a mistake that government gave claimants the option of taking money for the land.

“Because money is the root of all evils, people choose money,” he exclaimed, in the process misquoting biblical scripture, which says the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself.

“Even if the money sounds like millions, by the time it is distributed, it is just a few thousand rand and you remain poor, when you had the opportunity to get out of poverty.”

His comments came after the ANC’s national executive committee voted against ousting him despite ongoing corruption claims.

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