There's no wisdom in Nkandla - Malema
2012-10-09 22:41
Virginia - Julius Malema on Tuesday severely criticised President Jacob Zuma for the reported R203m upgrades to his Nkandla home in KwaZulu-Natal.
This amounted to stealing and was not right, Malema told striking mineworkers in Virginia, in the Free State.
"They want to give you [miners] R16 000 but they give another man R250m to build a house," Malema said.
Malema was addressing a group at the Meloding Stadium. Many women and children were among the striking workers who arrived to hear him talk.
He asked why Zuma's other three homes, in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, maintained by the state, could not be used for international visitors.
"Who goes to Nkandla of all places? There's no wisdom there, nothing to learn, unless its about cultural aspects," Malema said.
Malema told the miners that Zuma has no respect for the country's Constitution.
"How can Zuma ask miners to respect the Constitution if he does not," he asked them.
He was referring to a recent Constitutional Court judgment that found invalid the appointment of Menzi Simelane as National Director of Public Prosecutions.
In reading the unanimous judgment, Judge Zak Yacoob said the court reached a number of legal conclusions, including that the NDPP's appointment was not a matter to be determined by the subjective opinion of the president.
Malema told the miners Zuma hired Simelane against the guidelines stipulated by the Constitution. It was Zuma's responsibility to protect the Constitution, yet he ignored it.
He referred to a recent court decision when the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was ordered to hand over tapes to the Democratic Alliance in relation to corruption charges against Zuma being dropped.
The NPA dropped the charges against Zuma just before he was elected African National Congress president and president of the country.
Malema told the miners that their struggle was his struggle. He also urged the community to stand by the striking workers.
- SAPA
