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Jacob Zuma

JOHANNESBURG. — The ruling African National Congress pledged yesterday to address irregularities in the security upgrades of South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma’s private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Province.
Those who failed in the conduct of their duties should face the appropriate consequences, be they government officials or ministers or former ministers, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said at a Press briefing in Johannesburg.

“This is in regard to omissions in the security clearance of those involved in the project, price inflation, maladministration, abuse of state resources and deviations from proper procurement procedures,” Mantashe said.

All public office bearers, officials and private sector companies involved in any maladministration must be brought to book, and all funds that were acquired inappropriately must be recovered,” said Mantashe.

When asked if this included Zuma, Mantashe said, “When we say all, we mean all.”

Mantashe was speaking one day after public protector Thuli Madonsela released a report on the final findings into allegations of abuse of public funds in revamping Zuma’s Nkandla home.

In the report, Madonsela claims that Zuma has failed to protect public resources in relation to his private home and his immediate family improperly benefited from the project.

The report also says the appointment of Zuma’s private architect, who earned more than R60 million in the project, represents a conflict of interest.

The estimated total cost to Zuma’s Nkandla home is over R240 million, Madonsela’s report reveals.

The government argues that the money spent on the renovation was to upgrade security that is required for a Head of State.

Following the report’s release, the opposition Democratic Alliance said it would initiate impeachment proceedings against Zuma over the Nkandla scandal.

Impeachment is the correct course of action for this flagrant abuse of public money, said DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko.

Mantashe, however, said the call by some for an impeachment of the president is “a premeditated position” that has nothing to do with the report presented by the Public Protector. Madonsela’s report, Mantashe said, conforms with the earlier findings by the Inter-Ministerial Task Team appointed by Zuma to probe the Inkandla project.

Both the inter-ministerial report and the Public Protector report raise serious irregularities in the implementation of the project, Mantashe said.

“The officials who have gone public with inaccurate information must be censored, like the information and description of the swimming pool as the fire pool and the details given to explain this matter constitute a misrepresentation of facts.”

The Public Protector’s Office and the Inter-Ministerial Task Team have suggested similar corrective measures, according to Mantashe.

“Many of them are in advanced stages of implementation and we commend the speed with which government has moved to curb the identified abuses,” he said.

“It is our information that some criminal cases have already been referred and will still be referred to the law enforcement agencies. As asserted before, it is our view that the state must pursue all those who accessed state funds fraudulently.”

Mantashe said the role of the architect or principal agent needs further scrutiny and if his actions led to undue enrichment and wrongfully accessing the state funds, such funds will have to be recovered.

He re-affirmed the ANC’s commitment to fighting crime and corruption including strengthening of all state institutions involve in fighting crime and corruption. — Xinhua.