South African President Jacob Zuma should pay back USD 500,000 of public funds used to upgrade his private residence with facilities including a chicken coop and swimming pool, the treasury said today.
In March, the country's highest court found that the president had violated the constitution by defying an ombudswoman's order to repay some of the money in one of several scandals that have dominated his presidency.
The court asked the national treasury to determine the value of the non-security upgrades at Zuma's homestead in rural KwaZulu-Natal province.
The work included a swimming pool, which was claimed to be a fire-fighting facility, a chicken run, a cattle enclosure, an amphitheatre and a visitors' centre.
The National Treasury said in a statement that Zuma should pay back 7,814,155 rand (USD 509,000).
