KWANXAMALALA, SOUTH AFRICA OCTOBER 16: President Jacob Zumas home in KwaNxamalala on October 16, 2012 in Nkandla, South Africa. The homestead has under gone an extensive revamp which reportedly hit the taxpayer heavily.
‘ANC lied about Nkandla refurbishments to protect Zuma’ – Mbalula
Fikile Mbalula has admitted that the ANC lied about the upgrades in former President Jacob Zuma’s homestead in Nkandla to protect him.
KWANXAMALALA, SOUTH AFRICA OCTOBER 16: President Jacob Zumas home in KwaNxamalala on October 16, 2012 in Nkandla, South Africa. The homestead has under gone an extensive revamp which reportedly hit the taxpayer heavily.
African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Fikile Mbalula has admitted that the party lied about some refurbishments at the Nkandla homestead of former President Jacob Zuma to protect him.
The Nkandla complex in rural KwaZulu-Natal has been at the centre of multiple controversies over the years, due to Zuma’s insistence on security upgrades and the infamous ‘firepool’.
ANC LIED ABOUT NKANDLA TO PROTECT ZUMA
Speaking during a media briefing in Mpumalanga ahead of the January 8 Statement, Mbalula took swipe at Zuma labelling him as ungrateful.
Mbalula said in defense of Zuma, they went to Parliament, opened an Ad-Hoc Committe and lied about some of the refurbishments.
“We said a swimming pool is a fire pool…it’s hard to defend lies. People have lost their careers because of that thing,” he said.
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BACKGROUND INFO
In total, an eye-watering R246 million was spent on sprucing up the property before the end of 2016. Security costs on the President’s home still fall under the remit of being legally funded by the taxpayer; however Zuma argued that certain renovations were necessary for his safety.
The former President was ordered to pay back almost R7.8 million to the state in 2016, after it was found he illegally used public funds to renovate Nkandla. But that is a mere drop in the ocean when compared to the true value of his home.
