Forget that measly R50 lion you’re hanging onto there JZ, time to bust out the leopards in celebration.
Monday’s National Treasury report, which found Jacob Zuma will have to pay back R7,8 million of the R246 million spent on Nkandla, was met with mixed reactions around the country.
Some said it wasn’t enough, some wondered how it had been calculated (that maths HERE), and others scoffed at the thought that he would honour any finding made in a court of law.
Well, thanks to King Goodwill Zwelithini and the Ingonyama Trust, Zuma and his family are about to laugh off that pittance he is required to pay back.
The Mail and Guardian with the details:
[He] has until the end of August to repay the state R7.8-million for taxpayer-funded improvements to his Nkandla home. But, ironically, that amount represents – conservatively – an 85% profit for Zuma.
Combining the findings of the treasury with a 2014 report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) shows that the Zuma family benefited to the tune of R51.5-million from state spending on their home. The R7.8-million repayment represents only a little more than 15% of that.
And thanks to a recent policy decision by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini regarding Ingonyama Trust land, the Zuma family will eventually be able to cash in on that state-sponsored benefit.
If you’re thinking these are all facts and figures you have heard before, bear in mind this vital detail:
The Nkandla compound is built on land owned by the Ingonyama Trust and so is under the control of Zwelithini, in effect making it impossible to sell and difficult to get a loan against. (Zuma claims to have a bond registered against the property even though banks say that would be impossible for land under traditional ownership. Zuma has never provided proof of that bond, despite an obligation to do so.)
But in early June, Zwelithini announced his intention to issue title deeds to those who live on Ingonyama Trust land. If that happens, the Zuma family would become the owners of the land – and will be able to cash in on the 85% profit on the R7.8-million investment.
That would be the same Goodwill who made headlines for his xenophobic rants (HERE) and ‘maiden bursaries’ (HERE) – just a little out of touch perhaps?
They say you have to spend money to make money, and it seems that no matter what is thrown Zuma’s way he somehow comes out chuckling.
[source:mg]
