DA calls on Zuma to public ally commit to paying back the Nkandla money himself

29 July 2016

The DA will today submit a letter to President Jacob Zuma demanding that he make a public commitment that he will pay back the R7.8 million he owes for Nkandlagate "personally". 

We will also demand that he furnish Parliament with proof, in the interest of transparency and accountability, that he has in fact done so. 

The DA learnt late yesterday that, during Jacob Zuma’s visit to the North West, the Madibeng Business Forum committed to helping Jacob Zuma pay back the money. What was deeply concerning is that the President did not rebuff this clearly inappropriate commitment.

In a community such as Madibeng, plagued by collapsing service delivery, and little water, that money should rather be donated to help vulnerable members of the community – not a South African who earns more than R2 million a year.

Jacob Zuma’s silence, however, is not new. He has also said nothing when members of his infamous “Premier League” have continuously committed to helping him pay back the money that he improperly benefited from.

If anything, this demonstrates Jacob Zuma’s complete disregard for accountability – he simply doesn’t think he has done anything wrong, and therefore simply doesn’t care who pays.

The DA will not rest until he realises that he, and no one else, should pay for this improper and irregular conduct – the subject of years of scrutiny, and which has left a monument to corruption in our country.

Issued by Sej Motau, DA Shadow Minister for the Presidency, 29 July 2016