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Reports today that the cost to the taxpayer of President Zuma’s private Nkandla home upgrade has soared to nearly R250 million is yet further evidence of the serious abuse of public money to unfairly benefit President Zuma.
      
Yet despite this growing scandal, President Zuma and Minister of Public Works, Thulas Nxesi, continue to refuse to declare the actual amounts of the upgrade, and the amount that the President will personally pay.
      
President Zuma must come clean with South Africa and answer questions on the amounts being spent on the revamp of his home, including his own contribution.
      
I have therefore this week submitted a parliamentary question   to President Zuma asking him to declare how much of the total expenditure he will be paying, and for what in particular this money will be spent on.
      
I have also submitted questions to the Defence and Military Veterans and Police  to ascertain on what date Nkandla was declared a National Key Point. Unless they reveal this information, the suspicions will remain that they may be improperly using the National Key Point Act to hide damaging information.
      
I urge President Zuma and his Ministers to use their replies to these Parliamentary questions to be honest with South Africa and come clean on their roles in this scandal.
      
Nkandlagate risks seriously undermining the integrity of the office of the President. Not only is it a blatant violation of the provisions of the Ministerial Handbook, which limits security expenses on ministerial houses to R100,000, but is also violates the Executive Ethics Code, which notes that no member of the executive may “use their position, or any information entrusted to them, to enrich themselves or improperly benefit any other person.”
      
The time has come for President Zuma to realise that keeping quiet will not make this scandal go away.
      
He must answer questions on Nkandlagate and protect the integrity of the office he holds.