FF Plus: Nkandla security excessive
2013-01-28 14:38
Johannesburg - The R206m spent on securing President
Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home was excessive, the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) said
on Monday.
"It is possible to have effective security measures
put in place for far less than the amount mentioned," FF Plus spokesperson
on public works Pieter Groenewald said in a statement.
On Sunday, Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi announced
the findings of an investigation into the money spent on Nkandla.
He said the government spent R206m on security upgrades
and consultants.
Included in this amount was R135m for the
"operational needs" of various government departments, R71m for
consultants and security features such as bullet proof windows, security
fencing, evacuation mechanisms, and fire-fighting equipment, he told reporters
in Pretoria.
Also included in the total was R26m to make changes to
the project (variation orders).
Groenewald called for the full report to be made public.
Nxesi said it would not because the residence was a
national key point.
"The minister has to declare how many officials from
each department, and who are not police members, were deployed. The president
is very seldom at Nkandla and it does not justify the operational costs,"
he said.
The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) on Monday said it
was referring a document on Zuma's Nkandla home to the public protector.
The party said a document about Nkandla was circulated in
numerous e-mails.
This was the document the CDP would refer to Public
Protector Thuli Madonsela.
According to this document R1.5bn, which included the
Nkandla highway, was actually spent.
"Accusations of such a kind have to be investigated.
If what is in it [document] is true... it's very serious. If people are
spreading rumours... they need to be brought to book on it," CDP leader
Theunis Botha said.
"South Africans deserve to be informed about what is
really taking place."
- SAPA
