The Presidency on Monday welcomed the visit by opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane to view the public part of President Jacob Zuma’s declaration of interests.

The move by the DA to visit the Union Buildings in Pretoria to view Zuma’s declaration of interests since he took office in 2009 comes after the release of the book The President’s Keepers by investigative journalist Jacques Pauw in which he makes a number of damning allegations, including tax evasion on the part of Zuma.

In a statement on Monday, the Presidency said it welcomed the visit to the Union Buildings by Maimane “to view the public part of President Jacob Zuma’s declaration of interests in line with the provisions of the Executive Ethics Code”.

“The Secretary of Cabinet, Director-General in the Presidency, Dr Cassius Lubisi has made all the necessary arrangements for Mr Maimane to view the declarations,” the statement added.

Explaining the visit, the DA said earlier: “This comes after President Zuma failed to answer an urgent question last week in the National Assembly as to whether he received any payments from his friend and tender mogul, Roy Moodley, or his company, Royal Security, at any time since he became President of the Republic of South Africa in May 2009.

“Instead, he responded by saying that anything he has received since he became President has been declared,” the DA said. “We are therefore going to see for ourselves whether the President did in fact declare such a salary, which he is required to do by law.”