Hon Speaker, it sounds to me like the President is tap-dancing around this issue. He says he knew about the renovations that were self-funded. He says he knew there was security upgrading taking place. Ultimately, however, it sounds to me like he is saying he did not know about the extent of the upgrades that were taking place at his private home. [Interjections.]
I have here a letter which shows that he must have known. It is a letter addressed to him by the former Minister of Public Works, the hon Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, setting out the details of the project, also that money was being spent on nonsecurity items. How is it that the hon President did not know about or act upon a letter addressed to him by one of his own Cabinet Ministers?
For the sake of clarity and for the record, did the hon President receive this letter from the Department of Public Works? In addition, when he received it, why did he not immediately intervene, to prevent this outrageous expenditure of R206 million on a project at his private home in Nkandla? I thank you. [Applause.]