ZUMA & ANC MUST TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEBACLE AT NKANDLA
27 July 2015
Mac Maharaj correctly asserted that the President should take responsibility for the debacle at Nkandla (see report). Whether or not President Zuma asked for the security upgrades is not the question.
The squandered quantum is the main issue. At the heart of the challenge to the ANC administration is the demure manner in which Public Works signed off on a bill in excess of R120-million for 20 shoddily built houses. Criminality is writ large here and the nation needs answers on what happened here.
The responsibility for the massive waste of public resources at Nkandla is that of the President and the ruling party. The Public Protector was too soft in her recommendations to the President. Ironically, the ANC MPs who went to Nkandla were far more scathing than Madonsela. They looked hard but could not find where the R246 million was spent. They said so openly and on camera. This finding by ANC MPs is fatal to the defence of the President.
Therefore, where did the R246-million go? It is the responsibility of ANC Ministers and MPs to account in full to the nation. Furthermore, they must tell the nation when and how President Zuma and the government will recover the stolen money and what action it will take against the colluders and looters? These indeed are the questions for the ANC to answer honestly and unambiguously. The cat is out of the bag.