Treasury chief to calculate Nkandla repayment bill
THE man President Jacob Zuma’s backers wanted removed — National Treasury director-general Lungisa Fuzile — will oversee the process to determine how much the president should pay for non-security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead.
Fuzile told the Sunday Times that he had decided, in consultation with Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, to personally head the process ordered by the Constitutional Court on Thursday to determine how much Zuma should pay back.
Fuzile said he needed to be involved because of the serious nature of the determination process.
“I will lead the team in supporting the minister in making sure he delivers on this.”
Fuzile said that the Treasury’s chief procurement officer, Kenneth Brown, would be central to the determination process.
Fuzile and Brown were allegedly on a Gupta “hit list” of senior Treasury officials who the Guptas hoped would get the chop when they offered Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas the finance minister’s job while Nhlanhla Nene was still in the position.
Brown is South Africa’s first chief procurement officer, appointed in 2013, and is in charge of ensuring that government procurement is transparent and above board.
Fuzile, a former teacher, joined the Treasury in 1998 and previously held the position of deputy director-general for intergovernmental department affairs.
Fuzile said the Treasury would embark on a closed procurement process to solicit quantity surveyors and lawyers to be part of the team. He said the Treasury would get the determination process started as quickly as possible.
“This has to happen very fast. We don’t have the time. By next week we must have clarity on how this thing is going to be done. I would hope that if it’s not next week, it is the week after next, [that] the people are on the job,” he
said.
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng ruled that the Treasury should determine the costs of the Nkandla visitors’ centre, the amphitheatre, the cattle kraal, the chicken run and the swimming pool.
He ordered that the Treasury should determine a reasonable percentage of the costs of those structures which ought to be paid personally by the president.
“The National Treasury must report back to this court on the outcome of its determination within 60 days of the date of this order,” Mogoeng said.
This means the Treasury has until the end of May to determine how much Zuma should pay for the five nonsecurity-related items noted by the public protector. Gordhan said at a media briefing on Friday that he would consult the public protector, Thuli Madonsela, if necessary.
“We can assure South Africans that the process would be transparent, thorough and professional,” he said.
Once Fuzile and his team have made the determination, he will have to submit a report to the Constitutional Court. When the submission is made and signed off by the court, the payment window will be opened for Zuma to make the payment within 45 days. Zuma has until July 14 at the latest to pay a reasonable percentage of the non-security costs.