President Jacob Zuma ordered in no uncertain terms that extra flats be built for police members at his Nkandla home, according to an internal police memorandum.<\/p>\n
“By instruction of the State President, President Zuma, the existing house at Nkandla currently accommodate (sic) SAPS members must be converted as part of the president’s household.<\/p>\n
“To cater for the needs of the members currently accommodated in the house as refer above (sic), additional bachelor flats need to be added to the needs assessment previously provided to your department.”<\/p>\n
This instruction, signed by senior superintendent LF Linde, is contained in the memorandum read out during deliberations by the Nkandla ad hoc committee happening in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday, after an inspection of the compound on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The document, dated October 23 2009, was part of a file handed over to the committee by Police Minister Nathi Nhleko in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature earlier this week.<\/p>\n
But the committee on Thursday still presented a united front when they deliberated over their visit to Zuma\u2019s private residence in Nkandla, northern KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\n
The committee discussed their experience against Nhlako\u2019s report which was presented on Tuesday at the KZN Legislature in Pietermaritzburg.<\/p>\n
Shoddy workmanship, inflated prices and the lack of security at the homestead dominated the deliberations Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
The ACDP\u2019s Steve Swart said the visit was insightful. \u201cHowever what is very apparent is that there was shoddy workmanship and the state did not receive value for money. Tiles are lifting, walls are cracking and dust is gathering – no wonder members of the public have been outraged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at the size of the kraal, was there a need for build a larger one for R1.2m, this is an exorbitant amount and we can see that the president has unduly benefited from the upgrades.<\/p>\n
\u201cA cabinet memorandum, which is a principle decision made in 2003, states that the SAPS should communicate the upgrades and he must consent to the upgrades, we hold the view that he was aware of the upgrades,\u201d he said referring to a police document which revealed that President Jacob Zuma may have been aware of security upgrades in his home in 2009.<\/p>\n
ANC MP Mmamoloko Kubayi said Zuma is not safe in Nkandla.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the things that are supposed to be working are not because they are not connected and heads must roll for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree that the costs were escalated. I have mixed emotions about yesterday. Let\u2019s start with the reception area, that area is not a visitor\u2019s centre. That amphitheatre, there is no amphitheatre, that area is a gathering area. The fire pool is just a small pool that can be used to fight fires and for recreation.\u201d<\/p>\n
DA MP James Selfe said the taxpayers had been ripped off in a monumental way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree that the visitors centre is just a constituency office. There was a toilet that was not even working and to receive a head of state there would be embarrassing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found it extraordinary that the clinic which was designed for the use of the president, the SANDF and the community, was not even in use.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to know to what extent did the president consent or condone these upgrades? What we need to establish is what other instructions were given out by President Jacob Zuma that certain infrastructure should be made part of his residence.\u201d<\/p>\n
IFP MP Narend Singh said the police barracks, the clinic and the helipad were directly linked to the president\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is not security in the complex. The security in the complex leaves much to be desired. The public is not wrong that Nkandla is a palace because of the abject poverty surrounding the place but there is nothing luxurious about the president\u2019s home. There is total lack of accountability,\u201d said Singh.<\/p>\n
ANC MP Vincent Smith said an impression had been created that the president\u2019s house cost R246-million.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring our visit there it was evident that at least R135-million had nothing to do with the president\u2019s private homestead. The R246-million that is ascribed to the president is not correct and the minister\u2019s report showed us that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Agang SA\u2019s Andries Tlouamma said it would have helped to visit the residence before the minister presented this report. \u201cThe principal agent was Minenhle Makhanya and it is said that he was appointed by the president before he became the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was again chosen by the family when he became president. There is a direct link there with the president being involved in the project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thouamma said the president should not be perceived as a victim.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe head of the house always knows what is happening in his own backyard. I think the president knew what was happening there. Nkandla was a daylight robbery and the victims here are the taxpayers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
UDM MP, Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, said, \u201cLooking at all the money and waste of state resources at Nkandla, we need to ask who should be held accountable of this? The buck stops with the president, he needs to account.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I feel embarrassed that that is where the president meets other heads of states, it makes us look like a banana republic.\u201d<\/p>\n
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