The IFP believes that the security minister’s statements on the publication of Nkandla photographs are a clear indication that President Zuma has distanced himself from the public.
IFP spokesperson on Police, Mr Velaphi Ndlovu (MP) said “The minister’s comments are irrelevant because taking pictures of building, even national key points, is not an offence. What is an offence is exposing the security features which would compromise the safety of the key point. This is a plot to hide the details surrounding the inexplicable splurging of over R200 million of public money on president Zuma’s private homestead. The public has the right to see what their money was used for”
Section 10 of the National Key Points Act states clearly that if you publish information relating to security measures at a key point, or in relation to an incident that occurred there, you commit an offence.
“Images of the Union buildings, Parliament and other national key points are regularly published, with no protestations from the ministers. As the IFP, we want to encourage the media to continue publishing the pictures of any institution without fear and favour in order for the public to see why taxpayers’ money will not be recovered when President Zuma leaves office.
President Zuma’s house will turn to be a state within the province which needs more development on its own; therefore the people must understand why we encourage the media to expose the criminality and wasteful expenditure of their tax on individual person which has never happened in other presidents before this one. ” said Ndlovu
“We also want to know why President Zuma’s home was classified as a place of national security, despite it being a private residence” concluded Ndlovu.
The IFP believes that the banning of any pictures of any national key point would be a violation of freedom of expression.
