In January Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi stated that a ministerial investigation had found no evidence that state funds were used to upgrade President Jacob Zuma’s private residence in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said despite this finding, her office’s investigation into Nkandla would continue, and her report would be delivered by no later than March 31.
The year has ended and the Public Protector’s final report is still to be released.
The Nkandla saga has been a news staple since it was initially reported that R206 million had been spent on upgrades to the President’s private residence. This year has seen the saga snowballing into a controversy that involved leaked preliminary reports and allegations of delaying tactics and political partisanship. The saga has generated heated debate involving political parties, cabinet ministers, the media, civil society organisations, and the general public.
Madonsela said her office began preparing for an investigation after an official complaint was made. She said at the time Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko also made a complaint.
Madonsela’s provisional report on the security improvements was given to the state security cluster on November 1. This followed a special request that it have access to the report ahead of all other parties to establish if its contents would compromise Zuma’s security.
The return date for comments was November 6.
The cluster then filed an urgent application requesting more time to go through the report preventing Madonsela from releasing the provisional report. The cluster later abandoned the application.
In December the ANC called on Madonsela to release the final report as soon as possible. She responded that she would stick to her deadlines and a provisional report would be released in January 2014.
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– By Busi Magudulela
