President absolved as report approved
PARLIAMENT yesterday accepted the report of its ad hoc committee into the upgrade at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead, by 210 votes to 103.
The opposition now plans to challenge the way in which parliament handled the process, and to force Zuma to pay back money, as public protector Thuli Madonsela found.
The ANC, NFP and APC were the only parties in favour of the report, which exonerates Zuma from any wrongdoing.
The DA, EFF, IFP, UDM, ACDP, Freedom Front Plus, AIC and Agang voted against.
ANC MP Cedric Frolick, chairman of the ad hoc committee which did not include members of the opposition as they walked out, said the committee had used the investigative reports before it, rather than institute its own investigation.
The findings, widely rejected as a whitewash by the opposition, included:
- The project was correctly initiated;
- The president was aware of the upgrades as he received formal and informal updates;
- The National Key Points Act was erroneously introduced;
- The private professional team was appointed irregularly and there was gross negligence on the part of senior department officials;
- The then-minister and deputy ministers of Public Works were involved in the project and could be held to account; and
- It was premature to decide whether Zuma had benefited from the non-security upgrades.
