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Yesterday, when questioned about the reported multimillion rand renovations due to be made to his official residences, President Zuma stated that:

“I wish I was the one who takes decisions about renovations of presidential residences… Those are taken by specific departments without consulting me… I am sure my decisions would be different… I have no problem living in my own simple house.”

The President’s response is completely disingenuous. It is a perfect example of how President Zuma fails to take responsibility when it really matters.

The President must surely have been aware of the extensive renovations planned for his various homes around the country. Had he been committed to leading by example and ensuring that state funds are spent prudently and in the best interests of the South African people, he would have ordered the renovations to be halted or scaled back immediately.

I will be submitting questions to the Minister of Public Works to ask when the Presidency was made aware of the planned refurbishments to the President’s official homes, whether the Presidency was informed of the estimated costs of these renovations and whether any concerns were raised about these costs at any stage.

In his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement last week, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan emphasised the importance of state funds being properly managed by members of the executive. Quite how the President expects the rest of his Cabinet to curb reckless spending when he has sought to absolve himself from taking responsibility for lavish refurbishments to his official homes, is unclear.