The questions that Zuma wouldn’t answer

THULI Madonsela wants President Jacob Zuma to tell her if the Guptas made his son Duduzane a billionaire, how often the president has visited the Gupta compound in Saxonwold, what gifts he has received from them and whether the influential family helped one of his wives buy a multimillion-rand house in an affluent Pretoria suburb.

These are among the 42 questions the public protector put to Zuma earlier this month, and which he has so far not answered.

The Sunday Times has seen a copy of the questions Madonsela gave Zuma on October 6, after he refused to answer her questions directly.

They cover issues relating to Zuma’s relationship with the Gupta family, the allegations that have been made against the Guptas by senior government members, various allegations that have been made against Zuma, and declarations made by the president to the cabinet. Among the questions are:

Has a member of the Gupta family ever given you or a member of your family a gift of any kind?

Six months after you were elected president of the ANC, your son, Duduzane, and your daughter, Duduzile, were elevated to positions of directors in [Sahara, a Guptaowned company]. Were you surprised at their sudden elevation at a relatively young age?

I have received information that Ajay Gupta made Duduzane a billionaire and bought [your son] a house in Dubai. Is this true?

By virtue of you and/or your son’s personal and professional relationships with members of the Gupta family, did you ever consider that this would inevitably create a conflict of interest for you?

Did you ever consider . . . withdrawing from relevant proceedings of the cabinet, or at the very least declaring your son’s personal and professional relationships with the Gupta family to mitigate a potential conflict of interest?

I have perused your declarations for the period 2009 to 2016. In all the declarations, there are no values. Why is that?

In earlier years you declared the Waterkloof house used by Mrs Bongekile Ngema-Zuma as an asset and also indicated an amount of R18 000 per month. How do you reconcile this with the instalment in the mortgage bond from Bank of Baroda of R79 715.00? Why did JIC Mining provide security for the bond?

Has the JG Zuma Foundation ever received any donation from the Guptas or Gupta-Zuma companies?

Madonsela noted there was no evidence of Zuma ever having expressed concern over alleged improper involvement of the Gupta family in the appointment of ministers or directors in state-owned enterprises, or use of his name to solicit favours by the Guptas.

“You are, however, on record as having denounced the allegations of state capture, stating ‘there is no such thing’, which . . . was a public repudiation of allegations by deputy minister [Mcebisi] Jonas, Ms [Vytjie] Mentor and Mr [Themba] Maseko . . . [of] allegations of state capture by the Guptas.

“In light of this, did you not consider that it was appropriate to at least institute an investigation, commission of inquiry, or suchlike, to test these allegations, before publicly repudiating these allegations?”

The questions were initially put to Zuma at a three-hour meeting between Madonsela, Zuma and his legal

Did you not consider it appropriate to institute an investigation?

team in Pretoria 10 days ago. He declined to answer them, instead asking for them in writing and promising to respond by Monday.

He has not yet responded, and on Thursday initiated legal action to stop Madonsela releasing her report on state capture.

A source close to Madonsela told the Sunday Times this week she suspected she had been “duped” into handing over the questions to Zuma.

But Zuma’s spokesman, Bongani Ngqulunga, said yesterday that Zuma had never refused to answer the questions. “He has asked to be given adequate time to answer comprehensively various questions posed to him, some touching on matters dating back as early as 2009. The questions required him to speak to at least 21 people identified by the public protector.

“It is important to mention that the first time the president was asked to answer any questions was on October 2 2016. When the president met with the public protector on October 6 in Pretoria, he asked for the meeting to be postponed so he could get access to information that would enable him to answer the questions. The request was turned down and instead he was asked to answer written questions under oath.”

Ngqulunga said Zuma was willing to answer any questions by the protector. “He has also asked to be given access to certain information as provided for in the Public Protector Act.”