Zuma has R900 000 FNB bond - report
2012-11-20 16:29
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Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma has a R900 000 bond on his Nkandla home, a report said on Tuesday, which he first applied for in 2001.
The presidency earlier also maintained that the home loan existed after saying that it had noted media reports which implied that Zuma had misled the National Assembly about it.
"We reaffirm that President Zuma does indeed have a bond on the residence with one of the national banks, and he is still paying it off monthly," spokesperson Mac Maharaj said in a statement.
According to The Mail & Guardian online, Zuma reportedly first applied for the home loan on the residence in 2001, when it was worth between R650 000 and R750 000, according to a bank valuation and insurance assessments.
By December 2002, he had been granted the home loan by First National Bank (FNB), despite being in dire financial straits, not having a formal lease on the land, and a bank policy not to bond property owned by tribal trusts, according to the report.
The existence of the loan, and some details around it, were confirmed in the original indictment against Schabir Shaik, Zuma's financial advisor.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the loan was only granted because of a R400 000 surety signed by businessman Vivian Reddy, a known Zuma funder.
Reddy reportedly confirmed on the weekend that he lent Zuma money for the first phase of construction, and the loan had since been paid back.
News24's sister publication Fin24 reported that a specialist electrical services supplier founded by Reddy has debts amounting to R83m.
Banks reportedly did not grant bonds on land under tribal control, typically because they could not guarantee they would be able to recover lent money if the lender defaults.
FNB did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the mechanism of such loans.
On Thursday last week chief executive Michael Jordaan said client confidentiality precluded it from talking about the details of individual loans.
City Press reported on Sunday that there was no bond registered on Zuma's home.
It alleged the land on which Zuma's home stands was owned by the Ingonyama Trust, headed by King Goodwill Zwelithini.
It reported that the trust managed 32% of all land in KwaZulu-Natal on behalf of the state, and for the benefit of its occupants.
Belinda Benson, Ingonyama Trust's property manager, told the newspaper as far as she was aware no bond had been registered against the property.
On Thursday, Zuma told Parliament he was still paying off a bond for the home.
- SAPA
