Zuma must pay R7.8m – Treasury
THE public is having the last laugh after President Jacob Zuma was ordered to pay back R7.8-million related to the non-security upgrades to his private home at Nkandla.
For years Zuma laughed off and even castigated all for demanding that he pay back the money.
Yesterday, the Treasury announced that he should pay back R7.8-million.
Had the Treasury relied on the rand’s current value, Zuma would have had to pay back R10.3-million for the visitors’ centre, amphitheatre‚ swimming pool‚ cattle kraal and chicken run that were built as part of the more than R200-million in taxpayer money that was spent on his home.
The Constitutional Court still has to approve the Treasury’s determination.
If it does, Zuma will have to pay within 45 days of the court’s approval.
The EFF, which took Zuma to court, said yesterday the fight was not over.
The party said it would still stop Zuma from speaking in parliament, saying he had violated the constitution and did not deserve the honour of addressing parliament.
The DA’s Mmusi Maimane said paying back the money did not mean that the original corruption charges against Zuma were forgotten.
“This is not the end of the road for Jacob Zuma and his corrupt cronies,it has only just begun.”
COPE, however, believes Zuma has got away with daylight robbery.
The party believes that Zuma will now become the holder of an asset worth hundreds of millions of rands.
The IFP called the R7.8-million “somewhat trivial when compared with the overall expenditure incurred at Nkandla”.
Yesterday, public protector Thuli Madonsela did not elaborate on the Treasury determination but said: “All I ever wanted was compliance.”
In March, the Constitutional Court found that Zuma had failed to uphold, protect and defend the constitution when he did not heed Madonsela’s remedial actions.
In 2014, she found that he and his family had benefited unduly from upgrades to his private home.
Madonsela ordered Zuma to pay back a reasonable portion of the more than R200-million expenditure but, rather than oblige, Zuma spent two years obfuscating.
Last night, the Presidency said it was studying the report and would comment on it later.