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Cape Town – President Jacob Zuma should repay 100% of the reasonable costs of the upgrades to his Nkandla homestead, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said on Monday.
This would be in the interest of justice, fairness and accountability, he said.
"The South African people were defrauded by President Zuma and all those implicated in the Nkandla saga, and it is now time he pays back the money used to update his personal mansion," Maimane said in a statement.
This after the Constitutional Court in March confirmed that the Public Protector's findings were binding.
The non-security upgrades which were mentioned in Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's Secure in Comfort report included the swimming pool, chicken run, kraal and the amphitheatre.
Reasonable costs
The National Treasury was tasked with calculating a reasonable cost of the non-security upgrades to Zuma’s Nkandla home.
They were given 60 days and have said they will not miss the deadline, which falls on Tuesday.
Maimane said they maintained that a reasonable percentage of the reasonable costs could only be 100%.
"In determining the reasonable percentage thereof that he must pay, the National Treasury must send a clear message to all public representatives that corruption will not be tolerated," he said.
Maimane said the president failed to take action during the upgrades to the homestead.
"We simply cannot accept that ordinary citizens have to carry the burden of the president’s self-serving conduct. The only reasonable thing for him to do is to personally pay back 100% of the reasonable costs of the upgrades."
