Nkandla: DA mulls legal action

INLSA

President Jacob Zumas homestead at KwaNxamalala, Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

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Cape Town - The DA might take legal action against the government after various allegations that departments “stubbornly avoided fault or accountability” for Nkandlagate, party spokesman Geordin Hill-Lewis said.

Hill-Lewis, who is Helen Zille’s chief of staff, was echoing the views of parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko, who said on Wednesday she had been prevented from directing questions at President Jacob Zuma about the controversial Nkandla upgrade.

The opposition wanted Zuma to reveal how much he was contributing personally. The matter was raised in the National Assembly on Tuesday by DA MP Anchen Dreyer, sparking a fierce debate. Dreyer called Zuma “an enemy of the poor”.

Mazibuko submitted questions to the presidency, the defence ministry and the police department in the hope that the matter would be debated. She said her submissions had all been rejected.

“I believe this is a decision which sets a very dangerous precedent, because it allows Parliament to protect the presidency from answering difficult questions.”

Hill-Lewis said the upgrade “was not only morally wrong and unjustifiable given our country’s social needs, but it is also possibly illegal”.

“It is, we believe, in violation of the provisions of the Ministerial Handbook and the executive ethics code. We will carefully study the response we receive from the president and the other departments, and will then consider what legal action is necessary and possible,” he said.

Two weeks ago, the presidency said the Zuma family were paying for upgrades from their own pockets.

It also rejected “the ongoing campaign by the media” of linking every development around the KwaZulu-Natal village to Zuma.

Cape Argus