Zuma not honest about Nkandla and security a smoke-screen for corruption - judicial commission of inquiry needed

 "If the Nkandla report in the Mail & Guardian is correct, President Jacob Zuma should resign because he was dishonest in parliament about improvements about Nkandla and the excuse of security standards is a smoke-screen which was abused for corruption (see here). A judicial commission of inquiry should be appointed to properly investigate the whole scandal," Mr. Pieter Groenewald, the Freedom Front Plus' spokesperson on Public Works, says.

"Zuma said in parliament that he had nothing to do with the security improvements at Nkandla, but from the reports it is clear that Zuma exercised pressure and gave orders that the house, in which the police was housed, should be made part of his housing complex. That was interference in the improvements and boils down to corruption.

"The excuse that safety requirements had been a reason why only some contractors could have been used was a smoke-screen for favouritism. The Bonelena contractor was not capable of doing the work and in order to avoid a court case during which the scandal would have been revealed in court, Bonelena was treated with gloves. A proper investigation should be undertaken into whether the settlement amount with Bonelena was justified.

"Improvements, such as the R1 million used for the cattle kraal and the landscaping, which includes a tree nursery, must be paid by Zuma himself and cannot be recovered from taxpayers, as it has nothing to do with security. The extent of this scandal will only be properly revealed if a judicial commission of inquiry is appointed to investigate it," Groenewald said.

Statement issued by Mr. Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus spokesperson: Public Works, July 5 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter