Yesterday, Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president was interrupted during a parliamentary session where he was responding to allegations that he had excessively spent public funds in renovating his sprawling residence in the rural KwaZula-Natal province.
A BBC news report today announced that President Zuma declared that he had “responded appropriately to parliament” after a member of parliament, Julius Malema, asked him when he would repay the Nkandla money.
But before President Zuma finished responding to questioning over the affair Mr. Malema and other members of his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party began chanting “pay back the money”. The ensuing commotion resulted in the suspension of the parliamentary session, and removal of the noisy EFF members.
Thulas Nxesi, Public Works Minister , reported last year that a government probe into public expenditure at President Zuma’s residence determined the expenses to be legitimate. The official report was not released to the public citing security issues.
President’s Zuma’s homestead, named Nkandla, in the largely poor KwaZulu-Natal province, has become a subject of much controversy as $23 million dollars of public funds were spent in grounds renovations-expenses the President has described as allowable security retrofittings.
Widely publicized reports of the upgrades, which include a swimming pool, cattle enclosure, an amphitheater and a chicken run enclosure, have caused public uproar and calls by many opposition politicians for investigations into the matter.
Last March, South Africa’s anti-corruption office stated that President Zuma had committed an ethical lapse in the Nkandla improvements and should reimburse some of the costs back to the South African state.
President Zuma leads the African National Congress (ANC) party which has dominated South Africa’s politics since former president Nelson Mandela took office in 1994.
The ANC has endured increasing criticism from many quarters in South Africa as Africa’s richest country has failed to bring 45 percent of its population out of poverty.
SaharaReporters.
