South Africa: Zuma Pad Raises Its Battlements

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29-04-2014
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SEVEN years after the construction of the controversial R90 million anti-climb, motion-detection security fence around the Bryntirion Estate - the site of South African President Jacob Zuma's official residence in Pretoria - his government is erecting another two metre enclosure round the estate at a further cost of almost R20 million to taxpayers.

"This is a fence to protect a fence," said a source with knowledge of the project.

Major questions have been raised about the price tag for the enclosure, understood to be eight kilometres in length and consisting 70% of fencing and 30% of a concrete wall.

One security expert interviewed by the Mail and Guardian calculated that including CCTV cameras and state-of-the-art alarm systems, the enclosure should actually cost R6,4 million - a third of the contract price.

There are also indications that the project, undertaken by Kgafela Construction, is seriously behind schedule.

Construction on what was originally envisaged as an eight-month project started in April 2012. However, on a recent visit to the site, it was established that only the foundation for the enclosure has been laid.

Department of Public Works did not answer questions about whether the development was running late, saying only that it was due for completion in October 2014.

Asked for comment, Kgafela's owner Stephens Somo said: "Any information related to the Bryntirion Estate project must be communicated with the client."

Somo would also not answer questions relating to his credit history. The Mail and Guardian has established that a string of court judgements have been handed down against him in recent months, relating to unpaid bills for building materials and equipment (See accompanying story).

As well as the presidential mansion, Mhlamba Ndlopfu, Bryntirion incorporates the vice president's residence, known as OR Tambo House, the presidential quest house and the residences of cabinet ministers.

The development appears to reflect growing government sensitivities about Zuma's safety, and has been matched by security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead. At least R40-million has also been spent on the presidential residence and offices in Cape Town in recent years, although it is unclear how much of this is security-related.

Asked why it was thought necessary to build a second perimeter enclosure, public works said that it was a continuation of a master-plan providing for a five-phase upgrade. This was required because "there are people living in the estate".

Public works minister Thulas Nxesi has conceded in parliament that cost controls on projects undertaken by his department are often inadequate.

The perimeter fence is part of a larger three-year upgrade at Bryntirion and Mahlamba Ndlopfu which, when it was announced in 2011, was costed by government at about R350 million.

Answering a parliamentary question in April 2011, the then minister, Gwen Mahlangu Nkabinde, revealed that Mahlamba Ndlopfu upgrade would incorporate specialised security measures including escape routes, the installation of a new electricity surveillance system and construction of a new security perimeter fence, upgrading of access control measure, and the installation of an intercom and danger warning systems.

The total cost of improvements, also including "attention to the swimming pool" and construction of a sauna and steam room, would be just under R168-million. A total of R191-million was also set aside for works on the larger Bryntirion estate, many of them security-related. In addition to the new outer boundary fence, which encompasses a one-metre high crash barrier along Church Street, they include another fence costing R42 million, the upgrading of access gates and a dog unit.