South African court gives opposition until Friday to respond to Zuma’s payment offer
South Africa’s Constitutional Court has given opposition parties until Friday to make a formal response to President Jacob Zuma’s offer to repay some of the money spent on his private residence.
Zuma made a surprise announcement on Tuesday saying he had agreed to repay some of the $23m the government controversially spent on upgrading his rural home in Nkandla.
The country’s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party has already told the media that it still intends to take the matter to the Constitutional Court, where a hearing has been set for February 9.
The government has said the upgrades were to improve security.
Zuma requested that the court allow the finance minister and auditor general to determine how much he should pay.
In 2014, South Africa’s Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said the president had “benefited unduly” from some of the upgrades, and he should repay the government for money spent on non-security features – including an amphitheatre, swimming pool and cattle enclosure.
