/ 10 December 2012

Nkandla police station ‘not linked to Zuma’s home-upgrades.’

The SAPS says the construction of a police station in Nkandla has nothing to do with renovations to his home.
A contract in the North West to oversee construction projects has ballooned by more than 300% and the tender is now being raised in the provincial legislature.

This was according to KwaZulu-Natal police on Monday, who said the police station construction was part of a "long process".

"This construction marks the culmination of a long process that was initiated in 1995," Colonel Jay Naicker said in a statement.

"The Inkosi … requested the SAPS [South Africa Police Service] to build a police station in the Ubumbano area as a result of ongoing faction fighting and crime in the area."

He said the SAPS felt it necessary to "put matters into proper perspective" after the Sunday Times printed a front-page report on the station.

The newspaper reported that the "state-of-the-art" station was being built "on the doorstep of Zuma's rural homestead".

It had "established" that Zuma was updated by consultants commissioned to conduct an environmental management assessment for the station.

R200-million upgrade
Nkandla has been in public eye after it emerged that the president's private residence in the town was undergoing a reported R200-million upgrade.

Naicker said: "We would like to expressly intimate that there was nothing untoward in this regard as we welcome this community-police partnership demonstrated in this project."

"Rural development remains a very crucial aspect of service delivery in the SAPS." – Sapa