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We must pay Zuma’s costs

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Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma

Application for funding to the state attorney has been approved by the presidency.

Heavily taxed South Africans will have to cough up for the legal costs incurred by former president Jacob Zuma in respect of the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

City Press’ sister publication, Rapport, reports that Zuma’s application for funding to the state attorney has been approved by the presidency, with those of other colleagues who will also appear before Judge Raymond Zondo.

Rodney Isaacs, chief litigation officer of the justice and constitutional development department confirmed that Zuma’s legal fees for the state capture inquiry are being funded by the presidency through the state attorney.

Isaacs said the communications department had requested that Faith Muthambi, former minister of communication, be assisted at state expense.

A request for Malusi Gigaba, former home affairs minister, is pending.

Rough estimates by lawyers indicate that the costs for Zuma’s legal team over the course of the commission could amount to between R24 million and R30 million.

This is in addition to previous costs for Zuma’s defence in criminal and other cases, which the DA estimated at R15 million.

The Economic Freedeom Fighters put the figure closer to R32 million.

Scores of former members of Cabinet and senior officials are expected to testify before Zondo, which could result in enormous legal costs that the taxpayer will have to pick up.

In addition, a commission of inquiry doesn’t make any findings of guilt, so it is unlikely the costs will be recovered.

Isaacs said: “When cases are referred to court, we insist on a signed undertaking to pay the money back if the finding is against the applicant or the accused.”

A source said the government was expecting a flood of applications from everyone who has potentially been implicated in state capture.

The state attorney’s office could not confirm if others implicated in state capture had applied for assistance.

“The office of the state attorney is receiving applications regularly from departments requesting legal representation of their officials and it might be that some have not yet have been captured on the state attorney’s database.”

A criterion for state funding is that the officials have to appear to give evidence in cases that have to do with the execution of their official duties.

But there is a potential problem with this.

Section 3 of the State Attorneys Act makes it clear that the state attorney can appear on behalf of state officials, but it doesn’t make provision for the state attorney to pay private attorneys to do so, as is the case with
Zuma’s defence.

In December last year Zuma was, for the first time, ordered to pay legal costs out of his own pocket, after an abandoned attempt to prevent the release of former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report into state capture.

He appealed against the order and lost the case in the High Court in Pretoria two weeks ago.

Treasury officials, meanwhile, have described in detail the arrival of Des van Rooyen as finance minister in 2015.

We were uncertain as to “what changes he would be making” and still “perplexed by the dismissal of minister Nhanhla Nene which had happened only a few days ago” testified former and present Treasury employees before the commission this week.

“We had received an email from then director-general Lungisa Fuzile inviting all senior colleagues to meet the new minister.

“The email had indicated that the meeting was set to start at 11am and since it was December, most officials were already on leave but on the behest of the new minister, they had made arrangements to avail themselves and meet the man appointed to replace Nene,” testified Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane.

The man of the moment “made it his prerogative to keep all and sundry waiting”.

Eventually Des van Rooyen, who had been sworn in on the same day, finally walked in accompanied by two “Gupta-allocated advisers”, Mohamed Bobat and Ian Whitely – son-in-law of ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte.

Van Rooyen immediately told them that “things are going to change at National Treasury from now on”.

In an attempt at introducing the men to Treasury officials “the minister pointed at Bobat and stuttered, trying to recall his name. The latter [Whitely] finally reminded him that he was Mohamed Bobat to which Van Rooyen responded we normally call him Mo,” testified Fuzile, whose testimony was later collaborated by Mogajane.

What bemused Treasury officials was Van Rooyen’s lackadaisical approach to his new role.

“The markets had taken a serious knock … which is still being felt by South Africans to this day. However, Van Rooyen seemed oblivious to the fact that it was his role to calm the markets,” said Fuzile.

“To the dismay of the Treasury officials, in this 20-minute meeting there was nothing of substance that the new minister communicated,” said Mogajane.

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South Africans, already heavily taxed and with the interest rate just raised, now have to cough up to pay for Zuma’s legal costs. How do you feel about this?

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