Democratic Alliance press statement by James Selfe MP Chairperson of the DA Federal Executive SIU may be scapegoating Nkandla architect In the lead-up to the completion of the SIU report into the ‘security upgrades’ to the President Jacob Zuma’s private residence at Nkandla, it appears that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is attempting to scapegoat the Nkandla architect, Minenhle Makhanya. The latest reports reveal that the SIU, in its ongoing civil suit, is seeking to recover more than R155 million from Makhanya as the ‘principal agent’ allegedly responsible for inflating the cost of the ‘security upgrades’ at Nkandla. This raises unanswered questions as to who is responsible for sanctioning these upgrades, and specifically, why money is not being sought from President Zuma himself. Indeed, this was a recommendation of the Public Protector’s Report – which seemingly has been ignored by the SIU. Following the tabling of the Public Protector’s report in March the DA estimated that Mr Zuma should pay back tax liability of around R16, 8 million for the fringe benefits. Furthermore, the Department of Public Works is also a defendant in this civil suit relating to Nkandla and we suspect that it will be expected to recover the shortfall of the R 246 million rand upgrades in an attempt to absolve President Jacob Zuma from as much accountability as possible. It is now more important than ever that upon completion of this report that the President table it before Parliament so that Members of Parliament may interrogate its veracity. While all those responsible for the wrong-doing, including Mr Makhanya, must be appropriately held accountable, this cannot be selective, with those in power being excluded. The sooner the SIU report is made public and an ad hoc committee is re-established; the sooner Parliament can get to the full truth of the Nkandla scandal and hold those responsible for this gross abuse of public funds to account.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 13:03:43 +0000