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President Jacob Zuma has been served with papers regarding his failure to answer a Parliamentary question put to him by DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, about how much public money has been spent on avoiding the 783 charges of fraud, corruption and racketeering against him.

By avoiding the question, the DA believes that both the President, and the Deputy Speaker, Lechesa Tsenoli, presiding at the time who allowed President Zuma to avoid the question, acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally.

For more than eight years, taxpayers' money has been used to pay for the President’s legal costs in the so-called “Spy-Tapes” case.

Given that the taxpayer has most likely footed the bill for the President's legal costs, the full amount spent should be revealed, in the public interest.

The question posed was specific and straightforward yet the President steadfastly refused to answer and the Deputy Speaker refused to require him to answer it.

Sections 42 (3) and 55 of the Constitution sets out that the National Assembly has a responsibility to hold the Executive to account, and that it must provide mechanisms to ensure accountability. Parliamentary questions are one such mechanism.

The National Assembly Rules set out how often the President should appear to answer questions and the Executive Ethics code makes it clear, in its General Standards, that members of the executive must adhere to certain standards and that no member may mislead those who they are accountable to.

Both the President and the Deputy Speaker have failed in their responsibility to uphold the Constitution and to account properly.

The DA have therefore asked the court to direct the President to confirm, in writing to the National Assembly, the total amount spent on all legal costs in respect of the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to drop 783 counts of fraud, corruption and racketeering against him, within five days.

Issued by DA