SA president moves on paying back money spent on house

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG

South African President Jacob Zuma has proposed to pay back some of the millions in public funds controversially used to upgrade his private country home.

In a statement released Tuesday night, Zuma proposed to the Constitutional Court of South Africa to advise the finance minister and auditor general on how much he should repay for non-security upgrades made on the property in Nkandla village, KwaZulu Natal province.

“To achieve an end to the drawn-out dispute in a manner that meets the Public Protector’s recommendations and is beyond political reproach, the President proposes that the determination of the amount he is to pay should be independently and impartially determined,” the statement read.

South Africa’s Public Protector [an official ombudsman], Thuli Madonsela, blamed Zuma in a 2014 report of using massive amounts of public money to renovate the country home.

Security upgrades on Zuma’s property were supposed to have cost taxpayers some $2.5 million. However, due to lavish non-security upgrades – including a cattle enclosure, visitors’ center, amphitheater and a swimming pool – the cost skyrocketed to $23 million.

In a more-than-400-page report, Madonsela ordered the president to repay some of the money spent on the upgrades.

The president has so far failed to comply with the directive.

The matter has become a major political issue in South Africa. Last year, members of the Economic Freedom Fighters Party disrupted a presidential speech in parliament, chanting “pay back the money”.

Zuma’s about-face comes barely a week before the constitutional court was due to hear a case filed against him by two opposition parties for failing to follow recommendations made by the public protector.