IT NEVER RAINS BUT POURS FOR ZUMA

MKP president Jacob Zuma photo by Dimakatso Modipa

It never rains but pours for MK Party leader Jacob Zuma.

This after it emerged that he still owes money to Afrikaner lobby Group AfriForum as well as the liquidators of VBS Bank.

Last week the High Court in Pretoria ruled that Zuma must pay back all legal fees which the government has been paying for him over the years in connection with a plethora of court cases he has been involved in since 2005.

The fees paid on behalf of Zuma by the government now amount to close to R29 million and on top of that Zuma must pay interest.

Zuma has already indicated that he will be consulting his lawyers regarding options available to him in this regard, and speculation is that he might appeal the court’s ruling against him.

According to the High Court’s ruling, Zuma must pay the said R29 million within 60 days or else his pension as former president of the country would be withdrawn and his assets, including his sprawling Nkandla mansion would be auctioned to recover all the money that he owes to the State.

Zuma’s debt to the liquidators of the VBS Bank stems from the loan that he received from the now-defunct VBS Bank in 2016 to repay for unnecessary structures which were built at his Nkandla homestead using the government’s money.

The unnecessary structures include a swimming pool which was at the time touted as a fire-pool from which water would be drawn in case fire erupted at the mansion.

A chicken run built at the expense of the government was also found to be an unnecessary feature.

An amphitheatre, which was also built at Zuma’s Nkandla mansion with government expenses was yet another structure that was found to be unnecessary.

When approached for comment regarding the debt owed by Zuma to the liquidators of VBS, liquidator Anoosh Rooplal was non-committal and only said the following:

“We cannot comment on individual client’s financial matters due to the confidentiality with the VBS Mutual Bank.”

In his response Rooplal continued as follows:

“However, as evident from public information and as is the case, the liquidators of VBS Bank have instituted legal proceedings and will continue to do so against clients who have defaulted on their loan obligations.”

Be that as it may, information that is in the public domain reveals that VBS Mutual Bank liquidators are still trying to recover a loan from Jacob Zuma, who owes a remaining balance of approximately R6,5 million from a R7,8 million loan.

In August 2022, a court granted the liquidators a summary judgment against Zuma, ordering him to pay the outstanding amount plus interest, and an attachment order allowing for the seizure of his assets if he fails to pay up.

Despite the legal action, the liquidators have faced delays in seizing Zuma’s assets but continue to pursue the debt.

The said debt was taken out by Zuma from VBS Mutual Bank in 2016 to pay for non-security upgrades at his Nkandla mansion.

It is worth noting that VBS creditors are mostly poor old people residing in the former homeland of Venda.

Regarding the debt owed by Zuma to AfriForum, the Afrikaner lobby group’s Louis Boshoff said the following:

“From the R500 000 owed to AfriForum by Zuma, we have only received R19 000 as yet, and although AfriForum has acquired a warrant for the seizure of assets from Mr Zuma to be sold at a public auction, the seizure has not taken place yet, due to delays at the sheriff’s office.”

Boshoff said the sheriff’ was apparently under some investigation whose details AfriForum was not privy to.