S. African Presidency denies requesting donations regarding Nkandla project

The South African Presidency on Tuesday denied reports that it has requested donations to President Jacob Zuma to help him cover certain costs regarding upgrades at his private homestead.

"The Presidency wishes to alert members of the public to beware of scams on social media where people are asked to deposit money into bank accounts in support of President Jacob Zuma," presidential spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said.

Such requests have fraudulently been made in light of the submission of the Nkandla homestead non-security upgrades report to the Constitutional Court by the National Treasury, said Ngqulunga.

No account has been opened for this purpose and no request has been made for members of the public to contribute, he said.

On Monday, the National Treasury submitted to the Constitutional Court its report on the payment Zuma should pay for non-security items in the upgrades at his private homestead in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Province.

The report was submitted in line with the Court's order on March 31 that "the National Treasury must determine a reasonable percentage of the costs of those measures which ought to be paid personally by the president" and report back to this Court on the outcome of its determination within 60 days of the date of this order.

The National Treasury determined that Zuma must pay 7.8 million rand (about 540,000 U.S. dollars), based on 2009 prices, for the non-security items in the upgrades.

The non-security items include the firepool, the amphitheatre and the cattle kraal, among others.

Under the the Constitutional Court ruling, Zuma has to pay within 45 days once the Court approves the Treasury's report.

The Nkandla project allegedly cost public funding worth 246 million rand (about 16.9 million dollars).

The Presidency said on Monday it has received the report and will comment on it after studying it. Enditem