Public Protector welcomes Zuma's letters of reprimand regarding Nkandla saga

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on Sunday welcomed President Jacob Zuma's letters of reprimand to the ministers involved in the Nkandla saga.

"We should commend the president for taking the action to comply with the remedial action. Regarding the content of the letter, I expect Parliament to be the right forum to assess the adequacy," Madonesela said.

On Friday, Zuma sent the letters of reprimand to the ministers involved in the Nkandla saga, including Minister of Public Works, Thulas Nxesi, former Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, former Minister of Public Works and High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Geof Doidge.

The Nkandla saga refers to the security upgrades at Zuma's private home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Province, in which 246 million rand (about 17.3 million U.S. dollars) of public funds was allegedly abused.

A Constitutional Court ruling on March 31 found that Zuma violated the constitution by ignoring the remedial action recommended by the Public Protector regarding payment to the security upgrades.

Zuma has apologised to the nation for "the frustration and confusion" caused by the project and said he is willing to repay part of the money, to be determined by the National Treasury.

Also on Sunday, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said the letters do not specifically reprimand the ministers for their involvement in this unacceptable abuse of public funds.

The letters also fail to specify the ministers' role over the course of several years in trying to hide facts and shield the president from accountability, the DA said.

The letters, which were published on Sunday, fall short of specifications, the party noted.

In her Sunday statement, Madonsela said it is up to Parliament to evaluate whether the letters were sufficient to curb future non-compliance.

"It would be then parliament's joint effort with the president, to assess the adequacy of this action with regards to making sure that nothing like this ever happen again under the watch of the ministers concerned," she said.

Source: XINHUA