The Government spent more than 200 million rand (£12.9 million) to revamp Mr
Zuma's rural home, justifying it as necessary security for a head of state.
However, Thuli Madonsela, the country's public protector, reportedly found
that Mr Zuma derived “substantial personal benefit” from so-called “security
upgrades” to the compound in Nkandla in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, many
of which had nothing to do with security.
A swimming pool, visitors' centre, amphitheatre, cattle kraal, marquee area,
extensive paving and new houses for relocated relatives were all improperly
included in the security upgrade at "enormous cost" to the
taxpayer, Mrs Madonsela is said to have found.
Details of her report, entitled Opulence on a Grand Scale, were leaked to
South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper just weeks after
security ministers took Mrs Madonsela to court to delay its release, citing
“security concerns”.
In court papers, she claimed that she had encountered "very strong" resistance to her investigation from the police, public works, state security and defence ministers who, she said, tried to curtail her access to relevant documents and stop her attending "important" meetings.
If backed up by the release of the report itself, its contents could prove deeply damaging to the ruling ANC’s chances of securing its hoped-for 60 per cent of the vote at next year’s elections.
The Mail & Guardian cited the report as finding that Mr Zuma violated the executive code of ethics by failing to protect state resources and misleading parliament by saying he and his family had paid for any renovations not related to security.
Mrs Madonsela reportedly calculated that the cost of the upgrades spiralled from the R27m (£1.6m) initially budgeted for when Mr Zuma came to power in 2009, to R215m (£12.9m) up to today, with an extra R31m still outstanding.
She is alleged to have blamed the “uncontrolled creep” in costs largely on the involvement of Jacob Zuma’s personal architect, whom he introduced to the Public Works Department despite him having, as Mrs Madonsela’s report said, “no security expertise, let alone clearance”.
The architect, Minenhle Makhanya, became the department’s principal agent for the entire upgrade, a conflict of interest Mrs Madonsela reportedly blamed on Mr Zuma’s “political interference”. Mr Makhanya’s fees were calculated as a percentage of the project spend, the Mail and Guardian said, giving him an incentive to extend it.
Mrs Madonsela is said to have found that "genuine" security issues such as the two helipads, a clinic and housing for the police protection unit at the thatched-roof compound were "excessive". Above all, they could have been located in a nearby town to also benefit local residents, it added.
In separate papers relating to the upgrades obtained by the Mail & Guardian through freedom of information legislation, The Department of Public Works justified the need for a swimming pool by saying it was a “fire pool” which doubled as a water reservoir for fire-fighting purposes, despite aerial photographs of the property showing a large water reservoir higher up the hill.
The upgrades to Mr Zuma's house were "acutely" higher than those done at past presidents' properties, Mrs Madonsela reportedly said.
The most expensive renovations until Mr Zuma’s was at the house of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black leader, which cost 32 million rands (£1.9m). Security upgrades to Mr de Klerk’s private home, conducted at the height of violent protests by the country’ black majority against the apartheid government, cost R236,000 (£14,000).
No one from Mr Zuma’s office could be reached for comment. Mrs Madonsela has condemned the leak as “unethical and unlawful”.
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In court papers, she claimed that she had encountered "very strong" resistance to her investigation from the police, public works, state security and defence ministers who, she said, tried to curtail her access to relevant documents and stop her attending "important" meetings.
If backed up by the release of the report itself, its contents could prove deeply damaging to the ruling ANC’s chances of securing its hoped-for 60 per cent of the vote at next year’s elections.
The Mail & Guardian cited the report as finding that Mr Zuma violated the executive code of ethics by failing to protect state resources and misleading parliament by saying he and his family had paid for any renovations not related to security.
Mrs Madonsela reportedly calculated that the cost of the upgrades spiralled from the R27m (£1.6m) initially budgeted for when Mr Zuma came to power in 2009, to R215m (£12.9m) up to today, with an extra R31m still outstanding.
She is alleged to have blamed the “uncontrolled creep” in costs largely on the involvement of Jacob Zuma’s personal architect, whom he introduced to the Public Works Department despite him having, as Mrs Madonsela’s report said, “no security expertise, let alone clearance”.
The architect, Minenhle Makhanya, became the department’s principal agent for the entire upgrade, a conflict of interest Mrs Madonsela reportedly blamed on Mr Zuma’s “political interference”. Mr Makhanya’s fees were calculated as a percentage of the project spend, the Mail and Guardian said, giving him an incentive to extend it.
Mrs Madonsela is said to have found that "genuine" security issues such as the two helipads, a clinic and housing for the police protection unit at the thatched-roof compound were "excessive". Above all, they could have been located in a nearby town to also benefit local residents, it added.
In separate papers relating to the upgrades obtained by the Mail & Guardian through freedom of information legislation, The Department of Public Works justified the need for a swimming pool by saying it was a “fire pool” which doubled as a water reservoir for fire-fighting purposes, despite aerial photographs of the property showing a large water reservoir higher up the hill.
The upgrades to Mr Zuma's house were "acutely" higher than those done at past presidents' properties, Mrs Madonsela reportedly said.
The most expensive renovations until Mr Zuma’s was at the house of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black leader, which cost 32 million rands (£1.9m). Security upgrades to Mr de Klerk’s private home, conducted at the height of violent protests by the country’ black majority against the apartheid government, cost R236,000 (£14,000).
No one from Mr Zuma’s office could be reached for comment. Mrs Madonsela has condemned the leak as “unethical and unlawful”.
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