Public works to keep eye on Nkandla

2012-10-10 14:50

Jeremy Cronin. (Picture: Lisa Hnatowicz/Foto24)

Cape Town - Public works will keep a close eye on the process to spend millions of rand on President Jacob Zuma's homestead, Deputy Public Works Minister Jeremy Cronin said on Wednesday.

Minister Thulas Nxesi last week said he would not reveal the costs for the security upgrade - estimated to be about R200m - as the National Key Points Act prevented him from doing so.

Democratic Alliance MP Anchen Dreyer on Tuesday insisted on answers during a public works portfolio committee meeting.

In reply, Cronin said though he did not know the details of the planned upgrade, his department would be keeping an eye on the project to see that no wrongdoing occurred.

Unconfirmed cost

Cronin could not confirm exactly how much would be spent on the project.

"I don't have confirmation of the over R200m to be spent and that's one of the things we need to look at... there are different figures being bandied about and some might not even be for the account of public works."

Cronin said the department needed to be as transparent as it could be.

"At the very least we need to make sure, without revealing the details, nature of security... we need to make sure as far as the tenders issued by public works, those were done cleanly, there were no inexplicable overruns on costs."

Cronin said once he was in possession of those details, he would do his best to be transparent.

Asked about the timing of the revelations on Nkandla, Cronin would not speculate.

"We need to take the matter seriously regardless of the timing and the context in which it is happening... It could well be politics and silly season, but we can't allow those things to sidetrack us."

- SAPA