Zuma to comment on Nkandla report once SIU probe is done

President Jacob Zuma says he will give Parliament a "further report" on his Nkandla home once the SIU completes its investigation.

President Jacob Zuma undertook on Wednesday to give Parliament a "further report" on "decisive executive interventions" on his private Nkandla home.

He would do so after receiving a report from the Special Investigating Unit he had directed to probe security upgrades at Nkandla, the presidency said in a statement.

"President Jacob Zuma has today, April 2 2014, submitted a response to the speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Max Sisulu, in relation to the report of the public protector on the security upgrades at his Nkandla residence," the presidency said.

It noted that three state agencies – the public protector, the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster of Cabinet and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) – had all "inquired into the same subject matter".

"The president has decided that he will give a full and proper consideration to all the matters before him and, upon receipt of the SIU report, will provide Parliament with a further report on the decisive executive interventions that he would consider to be appropriate," the presidency said.

"The president remains concerned about the allegations of maladministration and impropriety around procurement in the Nkandla project, in particular the allegations of cost inflation."

Among the report's findings are that Zuma unduly benefited from the upgrades to his KwaZulu-Natal homestead, and that he should pay back a portion of the money.

Speaking during a door-to-door campaign in the Cape Town suburb of Gugulethu last Sunday, Zuma said he had not been told about the upgrades to his Nkandla home, which included a swimming pool, cattle kraal, chicken coop and amphitheatre. "They did this without telling me ... So why should I pay for something I did not ask for?" he reportedly told a local private television station at the time.

Comments and actions

Public protector Thuli Madonsela instructed Zuma to report to the National Assembly on his comments and actions on the Nkandla report within 14 days of the day she released her report, titled 'Secure in Comfort", in terms of the Executive Members Ethics Act.

Opposition parties have continued to pile pressure on Parliament to act, but the legislature maintained it would wait for Zuma's submission before taking any action regarding the matter.

The FF Plus requested on Monday that Sisulu reconvene the National Assembly so that a debate into the Nkandla report could be held as a matter of public importance.

On March 25, Sisulu announced he was considering a request from the Democratic Alliance (DA) for the appointment of an ad hoc committee to look at Madonsela's findings. 

– M&G