State spends R4 million on Nkandla legal costs

2 November 2016

The State has spent R4 million on litigation involving the non-security upgrades to President Zuma’s private homestead in Nkandla.

This was revealed in a reply by the Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe, to a parliamentary question submitted by the Democratic Alliance.

The Minister confirmed that a massive R3 915 625 of taxpayers’ money was spent trying to shield the President from accountability.

It is a double blow to South Africa that President Zuma not only appropriated public money to build Nkandla, but that millions have been used to defend him and his proclivity to dip into state funds for his own personal use.

It is high time that the ANC-run government stop wasting state funds defending the indefensible.

It has become all too common for the State to pursue frivolous litigation using other peoples’ money. Most recently it was revealed that more than R17 million was spent by the Department of Police on political witch hunts against Johan Booysen, Robert McBride, Anwa Dramat and Shadrack Sibiya. We have seen the same wasteful expenditure on defending Mr Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who is clearly unfit to be anywhere near the SABC.

The DA believes that the President, Ministers and Directors-General should be held personally liable and be made to pay for wasting valuable financial resources.

That is why we have specifically argued that President Zuma pay the costs of his ludicrous application to stifle the state capture report personally, from his own resources.

The DA will not stand by while Jacob Zuma and the ANC-run government plunder state coffers while our people go without work and basic services.

Issued by by James Selfe, Chairperson of the DA's Federal Executive, 3 November 2016