Zuma pays State for upgrades of his private home

The treasury confirmed separately that the payment had been received.

Zuma raised the money through a home loan and paid it to the South African Reserve Bank, his office said.

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s main opposition party, welcomed the news that Zuma had paid back some money.

Zuma earns R2.8-million a year, meaning that his R7.8-million Nkandla bill is more than double his annual salary.

The EFF will also write to the relevant authorities, particularly the National Prosecutions Authority and Special Investigations Unit to follow up on the progress made in recovering the money that was overpaid to suppliers in the construction of Mr. Zuma’s private residence.

Bongani Ngqulunga, the presidency’s spokesman, said Zuma had not considered taking money from his supporters to pay the amount as he had been ordered by the court to pay it personally. The Nkandla scandal had threatened to derail Zuma’s presidency.

A panel of six experts from two quantity surveyor firms helped the National Treasury determine how much Zuma had to pay for the upgrades.

The party further said it would push the Nkandla matter until “full accountability” on the part of the president was achieved.

In 2009, soon after Zuma became president, upgrades began at his personal home in Nkandla, a small town in the eastern South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. “The President has a history of tapping into his circle of cronies for funds”.

The five nonsecurity items are the visitors centre, the amphitheatre, the cattle kraal, the chicken run and the swimming pool.

“As a outcome, the reasonable percentage of the estimated costs of the five measures that the president would have to pay personally would be 87,94%”.