Zuma had to know everything about Nkandla

7 January 2016 

Congress of the People believes that President Zuma had to have known everything that happened at Nkandla.

The wild expansion of its scope and the runaway costs as a result of unrestrained price-gouging by contractors indicate that neither the Ministers nor the relevant Departments had any real control over the project. All they were required to do was to hurry it along lest its discovery halted it midway.

The intention of the President was clear. He wanted the state to create a palace for him. He would throw money and favours to all around him to buy their support for the prize he wanted to secure for himself. He calculated correctly on that. Respectable men and women in the ANC did strange contortions of the facts to stand by him with a straight face and accept that Zuma did not ask for the development and that he was therefore not liable to pay back anything whatsoever. This was monstrous arrogance on their part.

In the normal course of events Ministers and Departmental heads would have kept a beady eye on expenditure to keep on the right side of the Auditor General. They would have exercised a lot more responsibility. They would have baulked at an expenditure of even R50 million.  They allowed things to get completely out of control because boss man wanted it that way. They were therefore relieved to give over control to a higher authority and to let the expenditure soar into the stratosphere. There is no doubt that they were extremely nervous but they knew for certain that they would be neither quizzed nor fired. It was the President’s homestead and he was free to pull all the strings he wanted to so that he could get what he wanted.

The sudden axing of Geoff Doidge occurred because he was a stumbling block to both the Nkandla matter as well as to General Bheki Cele who approved an expensive lease with businessman Roux Shabangu.  Doidge was rapidly packed off to Sri Lanka because he knew a little too much. COPE is convinced that Doidge needs to be sharply quizzed on the matter. He knows more than most.

The situation was getting completely out of control. On 29 March 2014, then Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, electioneering in Cape Town, stated: "It (Nkandla) has been investigated by the inter-ministerial task team, as well as the public protector and what I was saying is ... there are reports, there are recommendations, and those reports must be acted upon. There's no 'if not'. That's the right thing to do. They must be acted upon. What needs to be done has to be done. Those who must take responsibility, have got to take responsibility."

Most of those who needed to take responsibility ducked it. ANC members sullenly kept supporting what they very well knew was wrong. Vytjie Mentor, former ANC caucus chair and Prof Ben Turok are two former ANC members who speaking out whilst the others are shamefacedly still keeping mum and acting servilely. They will speak out when they are no longer MPs. They will then sing a different tune.

COPE's analysis suggests that President Zuma knew a whole lot and his influence on the development on Nkandla was very considerable. All those who are keeping silent will face increasing ridicule as more and more facts become revealed.

Even now, President Zuma is unwilling to implement the full remedial action recommended by the Public Protector. He fired Nene without batting an eyelid. He is however terrified in reprimanding and firing those who had fiduciary responsibilities for managing Nkandla. He will protect them in every way possible because to do otherwise would expose him. As it, he never had a bond and if he took action against ministers more of his own lies would become public. 

President Zuma had to know everything about Nkandla because there is simply no way whatsoever that he did not know what was going on and that he did not see everything that was rising up before his eyes. The truth will out. 

Issued by Dennis Bloem, COPE Spokesperson, 7 January 2016