President Jacob Zuma’s now retired Spokesman Mac Maharaj has opened the lid on his former boss “revealing” for the first time that he told South Africa’s President to return the millions of taxpayer money which funded his private Nkandla home.
An official audit Nkandla report found that Zuma benefited unduly from the improvements of his homestead, which cost taxpayers R246 million.
The improvements were officially justified on security grounds but have been widely criticised for the lavish price tag, as well as the additional extras like a vast swimming pool, amongst other enhancements.
In a recent interview with Financial Times (Paywall), Mac Maharaj weighed in on the Nkandla saga: “I’d say this is the biggest weakness of the administration. From the beginning I said to him, ‘President, prepare yourself for repayment,” he said.
“This was before the report came out. And I said, ‘If you have a problem, I’m sure that in your present position it won’t be difficult to raise [the money]’. He said, ‘No I did not ask for those security enhancements. I’m not paying.’
“… however this thing pans out, what is important is we create a culture of taking responsibility for our actions,” Maharaj said.