Committee to consider Zuma’s response to Nkandla

NATIONAL Assembly speaker Max Sisulu has decided to call an ad hoc committee to consider President Jacob Zuma’s response to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings about the R215m of taxpayer money that funded upgrades to his Nkandla private residence.

On Wednesday, Parliament issued its first official statement, saying that the committee would be formed.

While the committee is not expected to decide to impeach Mr Zuma because the majority of its members would be selected from his African National Congress (ANC), it will give credibility to Parliament’s democratic processes.

Last month, Ms Madonsela found that Mr Zuma had benefited improperly from the R215m spent so far on the upgrade at Nkandla. The expenditure is expected to reach R246m.

She also found that Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa had not applied his mind when he declared Nkandla a national key point, and this constituted maladministration.

The statement by Parliament said the ad hoc committee would begin work as soon as possible and report back to the legislature by April 30.

The committee would consist of 12 members, seven from the ANC and two from the Democratic Alliance (DA). The Congress of the People and Inkatha Freedom Party would each contribute one MP.

One member would be selected from the smaller political parties.

In terms of the rules of Parliament, the ad hoc committee can decide on its own procedure, frequency and the timings of sittings.

The parliamentary statement also said Mr Sisulu had decided on the formation of the ad hoc committee after consultation with the chief whips of all the parties.

Mr Zuma tabled his response to Ms Madonsela’s report on April 2. The response included a proclamation and a copy of the report.

The essence of Mr Zuma’s response was that he would wait for the Special Investigating Unit to complete its work before a final decision. He also said he was concerned over big differences between Ms Madonsela’s report and one by the security cluster of ministers.

On Tuesday, the cluster issued a statement saying it had requested Ms Madonsela’s office to provide more information and clarifications.

DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko submitted a request to Mr Sisulu for the ad hoc committee to be formed on March 20, a day after Ms Madonsela released her Nkandla report. Mr Sisulu responded on March 25, saying he was considering the request.

She has taken the firm view that the ad hoc committee is the first step towards impeaching Mr Zuma.

She calls Mr Sisulu’s decision a "bold" move that is a victory for Parliament and the Constitution.

Political analyst Steven Friedman says he is not surprised by Mr Sisulu’s decision: "It (the committee) had to be done. The problem was that it is a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation in that if the committee was formed after the May 7 elections there would have been accusations of kicking the issue into touch. If the committee works before the elections then the accusation will be that it is to influence elections."

- BDLive

Nkandla stories are ‘white people’s lies’

Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has described articles about President Jacob Zuma and his Nkandla homestead as “white people's lies”, the SABC reported on Wednesday.

He said the reports were “lies perpetuated by white people”, according to the broadcaster.

Nzimande, speaking at the University of Zululand, praised Zuma and said it was appropriate to honour him for his contribution to peace in KwaZulu-Natal and education in the country.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela last month found that Zuma and his family had improperly benefited from R246 million security upgrades at his private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal. - Sapa

Access the Public Protector’s Nkandla report here

Parliament to to investigate Nkandla before elections

National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu has decided to investigate the Nkandla report before the May 7 elections, Beeld newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Sisulu decided to set up a multiparty parliamentary committee to consider public protector Thuli Madonsela's report "Secure in Comfort" about security upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, paid for with state funds.

Nkandla: A timeline

Beeld quoted Democratic Alliance (DA) chief whip Watty Watson and Freedom Front Plus chief whip Corne Mulder, who both confirmed that Sisulu would appoint an ad hoc committee.

"The speaker phoned me and told me he planned to set up an ad hoc committee and that he wanted to consult," said Mulder. "The speaker said the ad hoc committee would have to work morning, noon and night up to the elections on May 7 to get the work done in time ... He [Sisulu] said he wanted to complete it before May 6. That means the committee should present a report before then and then the National Assembly should be called upon to consider the report."

According to parliamentary rules, the speaker needed to consult with political parties before setting up such a committee.

Seven requests

In her report, Madonsela found that Zuma and his family improperly benefited from the R246-million security upgrades, which included a swimming pool, a cattle kraal and an amphitheatre. Madonsela also found that Zuma breached the Executive Members' Ethics Act. She recommended that a percentage of the money be repaid.

" … The amount in question should be based on the cost of the installation of some or all the items that can't conscionably be accepted as security measures. These included the visitor's centre, cattle kraal and chicken run, swimming pool and amphitheatre … The president and his legal advisors did not dispute this during the investigation."

Madonsela received seven requests to investigate Nkandla in 2011 and 2012. She was later asked to investigate whether Zuma lied to Parliament in 2012 when he said that his family had paid for the construction of Nkandla.

Zuma, in his response to the report, said last week he would await a Special Investigating Unit report on the matter before giving full and proper consideration to the matter.

The presidency said the report on upgrades would be used as an added tool to address claims of maladministration.

"In this context, the public protector's report will be an additional tool, which will fall under the consideration of President Zuma in addressing allegations of maladministration."

The presidency said Zuma "has consistently been concerned about the allegations of impropriety around procurement in the Nkandla project".

Sisulu's office told Beeld that a statement would be released once a decision on the committee had been taken. – M&G

Nkandla: The gift SA keeps on giving

The public will have to fork out at least another half a million rand for the homestead – every year.

The upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's homestead near Nkandla will cost the state about R266-million by the time the project is complete, and another half a million rand a year for at least as long as Zuma is alive, though possibly considerably more, and probably for far longer.

Calculations by the Mail & Guardian show that public ­protector Thuli Madonsela probably underestimated the capital cost of Nkandla by about R20-million, and that the state would be on the hook for at least another R500 000 a year in maintenance costs, without taking into account inflation, unscheduled repairs and personnel expenses.

The ongoing maintenance of state infrastructure at Nkandla has been questioned several times, but never officially quantified. In January, Zuma said in a parliamentary answer that maintenance was the responsibility of the department of public works. The previous month, Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi told Parliament that a maintenance plan would be completed during 2014, and that numbers were not yet available.

Madonsela, in her report Secure in Comfort, noted only that her calculations had not included maintenance costs, and that the nature of the improvements meant some maintenance expenses would outlive Zuma.

"A number of the items installed by the [department of public works], such as the safe haven, swimming pool, paved roads and walkways, as well as water and electricity supply, will require lifetime maintenance at cost to the state," she wrote in the damning report. "Some maintenance costs may transcend the president's lifetime."

Documents relating to the project show that the officials involved had, at various times, considered maintenance costs, but had not managed to quantify the likely expense. The closest the project team ever came was an estimate that ­"facilities ­management" would require about R300 000 a year, but the document immediately noted that it was a provisional estimate and was liable to change. That estimate dates from July 2010. The cost and complexity of the project increased considerably after that time, and the final number will almost certainly be higher.

Security enhancements

The nature of the laws and regulations cited as justification for the Nkandla expenditure hold the state responsible for both the maintenance and capital costs of security upgrades. As long as the state continues to insist – as it has done consistently – that features such as the "fire" pool, extensive landscaping and a cattle kraal were essential security enhancements, their ongoing costs will have to be borne by the public purse.

A review of available documents show that all the maintenance contracts built into supply agreements, such as those for air conditioners in Zuma family homes, have already lapsed. It also seems likely that longer-term guarantees on some equipment, such as waste and purification plants, could likewise have been voided by a lack of required maintenance.

Many of the maintenance costs estimated by the M&G are significantly inflated by the distance between Nkandla and major commercial centres, others by the sophistication and complexity of the equipment installed. But the prices do not take into consideration the "government mark-up" service providers say they are forced to add for government work, to correct for the complexity of administration in government contracts, and the risk of late payment.

The resulting annual price tag, of just less than R500 000, only takes into account the maintenance of major infrastructure, and does not include the costs of deploying VIP guards, medics and members of the police and defence force.

Major yearly upkeep

• Landscaping: R104,000*
• Fire and security: R100,000
• Swimming pool: R82,000
• Roads and paving: R60,000
• Backup power system: R58,000*
• Air conditioning: R36,000
• Irrigation: R33,600*
• State electricity: R25,000

(* Based on quotes and estimates from the public works department during the Nkandla project. All other prices are best-guess estimates based on limited ­information.)

Final infrastructure bill more like R266-million

Madonsela estimated that Nkandla's infrastructure, excluding maintenance, would bring the total project cost to R247-million, but that is extremely conservative. Extrapolated from available information, the actual cost is more likely to be R266-million.

Madonsela's estimate includes the cost of outstanding phase-three elements, which include completion of the underground bunker, more landscaping and fencing, and the construction of a "waste ­disposal facility". This work’s value she pegged at just over R31-million. But that excludes consulting fees, and accepts at face value ­public works’s estimates. In the first two phases of the project, payments to suppliers ended up costing 23% more than the value of the contracts awarded owing to variation of orders, price ­adjustments and "unforeseen items". Assuming similar inflation for phase three, the actual cost would top R38-million.

And in the first two phases of the project, payments to professional consultants topped 30% of the final value of infrastructure.

Should the same ratio hold during phase three, another R12-million would be added, taking the final cost of the last phase above R50-million, and making Madonsela's estimate short nearly R20-million.

- M&G

SARS sets sights on Zuma after Nkandla report

The SA Revenue Service has said it will look into President Jacob Zuma's tax affairs following renovations to Nkandla.

In a written response to DA MP Tim Harris, acting SARS commissioner Ivan Pillay said that although it would look into Zuma's tax liability over the Nkandla upgrades, the Tax and Administration Act prohibited it from disclosing taxpayers' details to the public, including the president's.

The DA claimed last month that Zuma owed the taxman more than R16-million in fringe benefits after the public protector found Zuma and his family had ''benefited unduly'' over Nkandla.

The official opposition asked SARS to establish how much tax Zuma should pay in connection with the upgrades at Nkandla.

"The matter will be dealt with in the normal course of duties and functions assigned to SARS for the purpose of the administration of the tax laws," said Pillay.

DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu was now obliged to set up an ad hoc committee to consider impeachment proceedings against Zuma following his reply to the public protector's report on Nkandla .

"The constitution obliges him to set up a committee if a member of parliament brings prima facie evidence. I've met all the requirements," said Mazibuko.

On Wednesday, Zuma said he would reply to parliament after the Special Investigating Unit's inquiry on Nkandla is completed next month.

- Timeslive

Zuma steps deeper into the woods of Nkandla

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma appears to be compounding the controversy surrounding the taxpayer-funded R246m security upgrade to his private Nkandla residence by saying he will wait for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report before fully articulating his response to the public protector’s report.

Mr Zuma has technically met the 14-day deadline stipulated in the Executive Members Ethics Act by on Wednesday submitting to Parliament a partial response to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report that found he had benefited from the upgrades.

Shortly after he had submitted his response, the SIU website’s status on the Nkandla investigation was changed from "completed" to "ongoing".

SIU head Vas Soni said on Wednesday night the website debacle was a "matter of grave embarrassment. I don’t know who would have put that up and on what basis."

The team working on the Nkandla matter is in Durban at present. Mr Soni said he would institute an investigation into the changes to the website and would issue a statement on Thursday.

Reacting to questions about possible manipulation of state agencies, Mr Soni said there had been no suggestion by the SIU that the probe would be finalised at this stage.

Earlier this month, he had reportedly said that the probe would be concluded by the first week of next month.

Yesterday, he said the investigation was likely to be concluded by the beginning of June, after the May 7 election.

Four processes had to be carried out. The first was to finalise evidence to send to the director-general of the Department of Public Works, for it to take action against employees implicated.

The second was to collect evidence to submit to the National Prosecuting Authority if crimes had been committed.

The third was to collect evidence to take the matter to the high court to claim back money from consultants the Department of Public Works had hired for the upgrades.

Then the report would need to be submitted to the president. Each step would take about 10 days, Mr Soni said.

A statement from the Presidency yesterday referred to three state agency investigations into the Nkandla issue.

Mr Zuma would give "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 intervention that he would consider to be appropriate".

"The president remains concerned about the allegations of maladministration and impropriety around procurement in the Nkandla project, in particular the allegations around cost inflation," Presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said in the statement.

In December, the Cabinet’s security cluster of ministers released its previously classified report that exonerated Mr Zuma and all Cabinet members from any wrongdoing.

It was only after that report was released that Mr Zuma signed a proclamation empowering the SIU to investigate the procurement processes used during the Nkandla project.

The African National Congress (ANC) has come out in support of Mr Zuma. In its initial response it said the public protector’s report and the interministerial report should be of equal weight and the discrepancies between the two should be ironed out.

The release of the public protector’s report two weeks ago, which found that Mr Zuma had "unduly benefited" from what were supposed to be security upgrades to his private home, prompted the Democratic Alliance (DA) to lodge a motion of impeachment against Mr Zuma on the basis that he had misled Parliament.

DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko wrote to speaker Max Sisulu requesting that he set up an ad hoc committee to consider an impeachment motion based on the public protector’s findings.

Mr Sisulu replied that he would consider her request.

The National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) are in recess in preparation for the elections.

However, the National Assembly may be recalled for one day this month to consider two bills, the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill and the National Environmental Management Act Amendment Bill, which have been rejected by the NCOP.

DA chief whip Watty Watson said now that Mr Zuma’s responses had arrived in Parliament, there would be some movement towards resolving the issue before the elections.

"If I were the ANC, I would want this whole thing put to bed before the next Parliament forms, otherwise the president-elect will have a sword of Damocles hanging over his head on the impeachment process," Mr Watson said.

Moloto Mothapo, spokesman for ANC chief whip Stone Sizane, said if the National Assembly were to be recalled it would only be to consider the two bills.

"If Parliament reconvenes to consider the bills, it won’t be about anything else," he said.

Political analyst Judith February said it appeared that the ANC was trying to give the public protector’s report, and the Cabinet and SIU investigations, equal weight and that this was wrong.

The public protector was charged in terms of the constitution and relevant laws to investigate maladministration and the executive process that led to it, Ms February said.

"The SIU investigates the procurement process such as who bought what, for how much and if they were overcharged," she said.

If Parliament did not debate or take some form of action over the public protector’s report, and decided it needed to wait for the SIU report, it would crimp its credibility for acting in the interests of all South Africans, Ms February said.

- BDlive

Zuma should resign over Nkandla scandal: SA youth

More than two-thirds of young South Africans believe President Jacob Zuma should step down in the wake of the Nkandla saga, a Pondering Panda survey has revealed.

"It's clear that Nkandla is a huge political issue among young South Africans, with more than two-thirds feeling Zuma should step down because of it," spokeswoman Shirley Wakefield said in a statement on Thursday.

The results were drawn from a cellphone survey of 2114 respondents, aged between 18 and 34, who claimed to be aware of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's report on the R246 million security upgrades at Zuma's private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.

In her report "Secure in Comfort", Madonsela found Zuma and his family unduly benefited from the upgrades. She recommended that a percentage of the money be repaid.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents in the survey believed Zuma should step down because of the Nkandla matter, compared to 26 percent who believed he should remain president. Six percent were undecided.

By racial group, 65 percent of black respondents wanted Zuma to resign, compared to 81 percent of coloureds and 77 percent of whites.

There were no significant differences in opinion between age categories or male and female respondents.

KwaZulu-Natal was the only province where those polled were more likely to believe Zuma should remain president, despite the Nkandla controversy, at 48 percent.

In other provinces at least 70 percent said they believed Zuma should step down. This view was most strongly held in the Western Cape, where 83 percent believed Zuma should resign.

- Timeslive

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

Take the window of opportunity, Mr President

It's time President Jacob Zuma takes responsibility for his actions - or inaction as it were - and asks for forgiveness from South Africans.

English poet Alexander Pope once wrote: "To err is human, to forgive, divine." In South Africa though, and as South Africans, forgiveness has become somewhat of a mundane pastime. We do it without even thinking. I'm not even sure that it is forgiveness anymore. Perhaps it's just forgetting until the next "err" pops up. Or maybe it's far worse. Perhaps we have become so accustomed to the flawed "human-ness" of our government as citizens that we are just immune to it, so we even forget to forget. And so we find ourselves stuck in a reactionary rut.

Forgiveness is not so much "divine", to use Pope's words, but just unnecessary. Because if we had to forgive things such as the lack of accountability or passing the buck just one more time, we ourselves would lose our "human-ness" and just be idiots, like in the case of the (literally) massive Nkandla debacle and its recent developments.

Perhaps you have heard about the recent statements made by President Jacob Zuma at a rally in Gugulethu? Let me refresh your memory and then you can all take to Twitter with conviction and haste.

Here is a selection of quotes as published first by a New Age article that reported on the story:

"I did not use tax payers' money" – Zuma

"They put in windows that I don't even want. Then they turn around and say this fellow used the government's money." – Zuma

"They searched and investigated and finished but they did not find anything." – Zuma

No sir. In fact "they" did find something. The public protector (let me introduce you to Thuli Madonsela), somewhere in a 400-page report that reflected statements of a compound whose windows you knew nothing about, found something.

Let's recap the findings you seem to have forgotten. The report did not find that you didn't know about a few windows, but that you were responsible for the payment of a pool made to extinguish fires, which is a lie for a pool that's just a swimming pool. It also found that you should be responsible for the payment of other tiny things, such as the chicken run, cattle kraal, visitors' centre and amphitheatre. 

But most of all, Madonsela, in a document big enough to use as a door stop at Nkandla, managed to find something bigger. She found the opportunity for you to step forward, amend your actions and do the right thing – be accountable. She found that.

And with all this talk of windows, she definitely found no reason to show you the door. Although it seems that your continued insistence on proving to an entire nation that you are unworthy of forgiveness and second chances is slowly ushering you towards one anyway. No one is saying you're lying about the windows, but let's be honest, it's going to look pretty bad when that's what you've said but all the while you're sitting on some gifted ottoman, eating cake, and only getting up to play with your wide variety of venetian blinds or whatever.

Now, as appealing as that sounds, it surely is not as amicable as at least motioning to do right by the South African public, who I can't promise will even try to forgive you. But at least you might be able to sleep better at night. After all, Pope also wrote: "No one should be ashamed to admit they are wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that they are wiser too than they were yesterday."

Go for it. In your upcoming parliamentary address in response to the report, take the leap.

- M&G

Nkandla job not finished – Madonsela

Cape Town - Public Protector Thuli Madonsela says her job on the Nkandla report is not finished until Parliament has considered it and President Jacob Zuma comments on it.

But she did not want to be drawn into media reports that Zuma had said in Gugulethu, Cape Town, he would not pay back the money spent on his home because he had not asked for the upgrades.

“I have not seen a formal response to my report.

“It would be improper for me to comment on media reports on what he said,” Madonsela said.

She was speaking on the sidelines of a panel discussion on whistle-blowing hosted at Spier Estate outside Stellenbosch on Tuesday.

Zuma had until Wednesday to respond to the public protector’s report and forward it to Parliament, after Madonsela first made her report public 14 days ago.

Madonsela said the constitution stated she had to investigate, report and take appropriate remedial action against those found to be in the wrong.

“I never consider my job concluded until we follow each matter to its conclusion.

“I am expected to follow through with the implementation of remedial processes,” Madonsela said.

She said she was waiting for the Presidency to respond, and she wanted to address Parliament if it decided to debate her report.

Last week, National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu said they would consider whether to set up a parliamentary ad hoc committee to look into the report and how it affected Zuma once the Presidency had written to Parliament.

Madonsela said the Presidency had always complied with the deadline of 14 days.

She said people were focusing only on what Zuma had to do, while other remedial action included reprimanding ministers who failed to do what they were supposed to do.

Madonsela added that the country was slowly making progress in curbing corruption.

“That must not mean we should be complacent. It means the weaknesses picked up by the auditor-general, my office and others need to be addressed,” she said.

She said whistle-blowers needed more protection.

“Whistle-blowing has done great in exposing (darkness to light) in the government and private sector.”

She pointed to the arms deal probe and the investigation into the police leasing saga as examples.

“I could talk about various other things in the private sector, including the price-fixing of bread.”

Madonsela said some people were retaliated against if they blew the whistle while still in employment, while businesses were blacklisted if they blew the whistle about tender irregularities.

She said more political will was needed to introduce measures to protect whistle-blowers.

- Cape Times

Zuma's response to Nkandla an insult to our intelligence

He says he knows nothing and did not order ministers and contractors to loot our finances in the upgrading of his Nkandla home. In fact, he does not even like some of the upgrades.

How safe are we as a nation when the president claims to have no knowledge of what is happening immediately around him?

The nation has every right to be angry.

According to President Jacob Zuma, he did not ask for the upgrades. When the contractors moved in at Nkandla, he did not know what they were up to. He just allowed the upgrades to happen. Zuma might fool some of his cabinet members but this nation is aware that the head of state is being economical with the truth .

As the ANC extends to Zuma a rope with which to hang himself, the damage to the country continues.

For Zuma to state that he owes no one a cent is laughable.

Though some in the ANC are angry about what has happened there is nothing they can do about it. Zuma has huge support and members of his faction occupy top party posts.

But the Nkandla scandal will never go away.

What we have in Zuma is an imposed leader. He has no feelings for this nation.

For him to say he owes us nothing points to a leadership that has lost its compass.

The amount of money spent on Zuma's house cannot be swept under the carpet. An explanation will have to come from his office.

It's becoming a worrying trend that Zuma claims not to know that he is responsible for issues that demand leadership.

With the Nkandla debacle, we are waiting to see whether Zuma will fall on his sword or fire one of his ministers. The masses should be out on the streets demanding that Zuma resign.

But the president is digging in his heels, safe in the knowledge that ANC members won't lift a finger. The sooner we change our electoral system, the better - or we will continue to be led by men who know nothing and are responsible for nothing while all around them everything burns.

- Timeslive

Zuma not a moral agent: Holomisa

President Jacob Zuma's response to the Nkandla report shows he is not a moral agent, the UDM said on Monday.

“His response to Public Protector's findings on Nkandla is a demonstration that he is not a moral agent and unfit to lead South Africa, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa in a statement.

Zuma should have known about government spending at his private residence, he said.

“His continued posture, playing ignorant, does not only expose his ineptitude, but also his moral incompetence.”

Holomisa said corruption happened under the president's nose, on the instruction and under the supervision of ministers he had appointed.

“There is enough evidence that shows President Zuma’s intimate involvement in the project, which is in direct contrast to what he said in public.”

Holomisa said his party believed Zuma’s administration was littered with scandals and that he had to take responsibility.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found Zuma and his family improperly benefited from security upgrades to his private KwaZulu-Natal home. These included a cattle kraal, a swimming pool and an amphitheatre.

On Monday it was reported that Zuma told a crowd in Gugulethu in Cape Town he would not repay the money because he did not ask for the upgrades. He placed the blame on government officials.

“They did this without telling me,” he told ANN7. “So why should I pay for something I did not ask for?”

The Democratic Alliance earlier said Zuma's decision to ignore Madonsela's recommendations undermined her office.

“The DA condemns in the strongest terms President Jacob Zuma's statement that he has done nothing wrong with respect to Nkandla and won't repay the money he has been instructed to by... Madonsela,” the party's parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said in a statement.

- Sapa

Grenades, stones fly at demolition protest

Cape Town - Two Cape Town law enforcement officers were injured, roads were closed, vehicles stoned and journalists attacked as Elsies River residents protested against the demolition of a shack on Monday.

About 500 residents of Clarke Estate blockaded 35th Street with burning tyres and stones after law enforcement officers demolished the shack next to the council-owned Rooiberg Court flats.

The city’s safety and security director, Richard Bosman, said the city had demolished “an illegal structure” last week following a complaint from the local ward councillor.

“Officers returned to the area after the structure was re-erected. During the operation, a crowd gathered and became riotous, resulting in two officers being injured.

“The crowd then blockaded 35th Avenue and pelted passing vehicles with stones,” Bosman said.

The Cape Times could not speak to the owner of the demolished shack because the crowd was too violent. Some residents said it was the third time the shack had been demolished.

“There is a father and child living in the shack. Why must the city come here and demolish this poor man’s shack? It is totally wrong of them doing this,” resident Jenny Jacobs said.

Another resident, Jan Abrahams, said: “We will not stop protesting. These city cops are treating our people like they are animals. They break down the homes of our people without thinking twice. We are poor and trying to make a living. This is wrong and I know our action here is not right, but we are fed up with our situation.”

There was a tense stand-off between community leaders, some dressed in ANC T-shirts, and Public Order police officers.

The leaders had asked police to move away from the crowd, but officers said they had a responsibility to keep the road safe.

“These people will not go away if you keep on standing here. You must go. Where are you when the gangsters are shooting in the area?” a leader, Jonty Mark, asked.

A second round of negotiations with police failed and officers told the community leaders they were going take action.

Police threw a stun grenade and about 20 officers ran into the area, lobbing more stun grenades and firing rubber bullets. They threw stun grenades on to properties where protesters were hiding.

Officers were met with a shower of stones, sharp objects and glass bottles as the crowd intensified their action. Protesters burnt more tyres and placed bigger rocks in the road.

The Cape Times team was forced to run into the home of a resident as protesters targeted journalists at the scene.

Police responded with more stun grenades and rubber bullets.

A police water cannon was later used to disperse the crowd.

Police spokesman Tembinkosi Kinana said on Monday night that the situation had calmed just after 7pm.

“Our officers were still on the scene. Earlier in the day, they tried to disperse the riotous crowd.

“It appeared the law enforcement officers had done an operation and the people did not take kindly to their action. We will remain in the area to ensure the road is safe,” he said.

No injuries were reported and no arrests were made, he said.

jason.felix@inl.co.za

- Cape Times

DA, ANC rumpus at housing handover

Cape Town - A housing handover ceremony almost turned into a stand-off between ANC and DA supporters in Klapmuts near Stellenbosch on Monday.

Human Settlement MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela visited the area and handed over 12 houses to beneficiaries on Monday, and, while he was there, supporters of his party – the DA – and the ANC exchanged political remarks about leaders of their parties.

The DA supporters sang: “We will never vote for thieves,” while the ANC supporters sang: “Zuma is our president.”

The ANC supporters claimed the DA supporters were not from the area and were transported. They said the DA attended the event only to make the housing handover ceremony look political.

One ANC supporter shouted: “You are traitors who are being fooled by Zille and her cabinet.”

Police kept an eye on the two groups. After the ceremony, a Klapmuts resident, Biki Stemela, confronted that Madikizela and questioned the way beneficiaries were being selected for the houses. He said there were people earning more than than R5 000 but were owners of RDP houses. Madikizela said he would have a meeting where they would discuss their complaints.

The Klapmuts project has an estimated budget of R120 million for 1 051 RDP houses which will be given to the beneficiaries when the project is completed.

New homeowner Tozama Bangani, 34, who received an RDP house on Monday, said she, her four sons and two brothers had been living in a shack for more than 10 years.

“None of us are working and I never thought I will ever get a proper house. Our shack still leaks when there is rain. The only income we receive is from a government social grant. I am grateful of this house. A house is one of the most important things that gives a person dignity,” Bangani said. “I feel like my life is transforming. It feels like I have a new life now. It feels so unreal,” she said.

Another Klapmuts beneficiary, Zonke Loyiso Zez, said: “I lived as a backyard dweller for 16 years. As someone who works as a construction worker, I never thought I would get ownership to a proper house. This means a lot to me, because I used to stay in fear of shack fires and lose all my belongings.”

Madikizela said he was satisfied with the project as many people of the area were farmworkers who could not afford proper houses.

He said his department would ensure that poor people’s living conditions were improved by giving them proper houses.

Monday’s handover followed recent housing handovers in areas such Mfuleni, Pelican Park and Saldanha.

siyavuya.mzantsi@inl.co.za

- Cape Times