SACP demands audit
The SA Communist Party in KwaZulu-Natal has asked for a forensic audit into the spiraling costs of renovations to President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead.
Marching to the township near Zuma's homestead on Saturday, the SACP brought the rural town to a standstill with more than 10000 members swarming the area.
The Department of Public Works and the p ublic p rotector are already investigating the costs and contracts related to the R250-million improvements but the SACP believes this is not enough.
The party wants a forensic investigation into the costs of renovations, whether prices have been inflated, who was responsible and who were the beneficiaries.
It also demanded an inquiry into whether there existed an organised syndicate ,that siphoned off of taxpayers' money through insider trading, targeting government property and the infrastructure budget of the Department of Public Works.
An emotional Zuma said in parliament on Thursday that he was paying off a bond on the Nkandla homestead, but City Press yesterday reported that no such bond existed.
Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said yesterday he was not privy to any information regarding the bond.
"I have sent the inquiry regarding the issue. But I'm not sure when I will get the response to give to the public," said Maharaj.
Zuma's homestead is built on land owned by the Ingonyama Trust, headed by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini.
The ANC caucus in parliament blocked a motion of no confidence by opposition parties on November 8 against Zuma.
DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko then went to court to have the caucus decision set aside .
She said the DA would never allow the ANC to defeat democracy.
"That is why yesterday [Friday] I filed papers at the Western Cape High Court to seek an urgent interdict to compel the speaker of the National Assembly to uphold the constitutional right of the opposition to have this motion debated," she said.
"The ANC is blocking it because it fears, rightly, that its own members will side with the opposition and vote against the president."
On Saturday, SACP provincial secretary Themba Mthembu said its march on Nkandla was to highlight serious challenges faced by rural communities with a backlog in development.
Mthembu said an attack on development in Nkandla was a broader assault on rural development.
"The attacks on the president continue despite the Department of Public Works confirming that it had authorised the upgrade following a security analysis."
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SACP demands audit
For Commenters Consideration | Please stick to the subject matterCOMMENTS [19]
RSA.MommaCyndi
Posted 184 days agom1si2zi3nzo4
The legal or 'citizen' standing of the SACP could be an issue, as well. Would it contest the issue as part of the government, to which it is aligned? Or would it fall in the category of an organ of civil society, thus chasing with the hounds, whilst it runs with the hares?
Or is it entering the fray in its usual custom of obfuscating issues, as it is wont to?
Loggenberg
SuiGeneris
Posted 184 days agoSecurity analysis -
R 1.5 Billion road
Bullet-proof windows
Bunker
Fences
Shame, Zuma must be the most scared person in SA !
''Emotional Zuma'' lied in parliament, as no bond could be traced.
nkosipeter
Posted 184 days agoI wonder how history will remember him?
SuiGeneris
With all the controversy surrounding Zuma, only a person who are completely devoid of any moral ethics and capable of twisting the facts to make sh!t look like pumpkin, will survive in his position.
JohnDoe
Posted 184 days agoI really hope he doesn't get a second term
rahima
Posted 184 days agom1si2zi3nzo4
Posted 184 days agoHow does one move shift from calling for a ban in even talking about Nkandlagate, to calling for an 'audit' on the same issue? Blade and Mthembu cannot be shooting with their wide mouths from every angle, with no fixed direction. It is time that they are made accountable
to somewhere. The SACP's parasitic life costs the taxpayer dearly. Yet they want us to be banned from even mentioning it.
Thuka-Thuka
Posted 184 days agom1si2zi3nzo4
LouisRedelinghuys
Posted 184 days agoBokfanSaffer
Posted 184 days agoMy condolences to all the decent people who will die of violence, neglect, hunger ,abuse and stupidity between now and then.
RSA.MommaCyndi
Posted 184 days agoThis is all just such a ridiculous farce. The fact that they think so little of us that they don't even bother to take the time to make up a credible lie - that is just insulting. Having a President who is constantly in the back pocket of shady characters is also insulting
m1si2zi3nzo4
i_stub_born
i_stub_born
i_stub_born
v_3
Posted 184 days agoSACP is correct: an audit is needed.
But the must extend to the terms of the (ahem) loan - was it a bribe, donation (subject to donations tax, right, SARS?) and was there ever any expectation that it would be repaid. If there was no intention of repayment, then the Income Tax Act allows any "scheme" to be set aside (not so, SARS?)
The audit must also cover WHERE the money that has repaid the loan came from. During the Shaik trial it transpired that Jacob 783 was not a good money manager (the way this country is run is no surprise) and needed "Friends" to pay his debts. To suddenly be credit worthy for several multiples of his gross salary must also be audited - right, SARS?