The name Minenle Makhanya is trending viral.
This follows revelation by South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit that he made R16.5 million as the architect who handled the R246 million security upgrade of President Jacob Zuma’s private home in Nkandla in KwaZulu Natal.
However, he is not enjoying his fee in peace; at least not for now.
The SIU has slapped Makhanya and the Department of Public Works with a R155 million civil claim before the Pietermaritzburg High Court, being the amount allegedly overspent in renovating President Zuma’s personal home.
But the President is not sitting idly by for his hard won fee to be seized as part-payment for the alleged over expenditure.
He has applied to the court to order the SIU to release to him “within five days” all the documents relating to its civil claim against him:
These include:
— Security assessment reports by the SAPS and the SANDF;
— Approval by the minister of public works for the costs of security measures;
— Request or motivation by the director general of the department to appoint him as architect;
— Bidding documents submitted to the department by consultants and contractors in the Nkandla project;
— All contracts concluded between the department and the consultants and/or contractors; and
— All documents and materials relied on by the SIU to compile particulars of its claims and those relied on for its allegations of excessive payments and above-market payments.
Reports quote the SIU as claiming that the department offered to appoint Makhanya as the principal agent of the Nkandla upgrade project, but the appointment was unlawful as it was not preceded by an open tendering.
Also detailed are Makhanya’s alleged authorisation of security measures beyond what was advised by the SA Police Service and the SA National Defence Force.
It stated that Makhanya had authorised installations that did not fall within the scope of security measures.
In a report released in March, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found Zuma and his family had unduly benefited from the R246m spent on the security upgrades to Zuma’s private home, and that Architect Makhanya also earned a cool R16.5 m out of the project.