PAYBACK TIME FOR ZUMA ?

We all know, and Jacob Zuma agrees, he is not an educated man. But, his lack of education is offset by savviness and old fashioned horse sense. Zuma's street-smarts have served him well during his presidency in sidetracking a host of alleged misdeeds. In doing so, his cabinet and the ruling party have willingly acted in concert with him. On February 9, 2016, the Constitutional Court is expected to hear the action brought by the EFF to compel Zuma to implement the public protector's recommendations regarding non-security upgrades to Nklanda. In a surprise move, Zuma, through his lawyers, informed the court that he was willing to pay back taxpayer money on non-security upgrades to Nklanda, based on a proposed methodology for repayment. Zuma's proposal, as far as the court is concerned, is a non-starter. Any first year law student knows that settlement falls strictly within the realm of the litigants. Once a settlement is concluded, the court may, at the request of the parties, approve the settlement to facilitate enforcement of the settlement terms. If Zuma believed his settlement proposal would preclude the case from going forward, he has finally out-smarted himself. More significantly, Zuma's proposal has far reaching political ramifications. No matter what legalese the settlement proposal is couched, it will be regarded as a gigantic admission of wrongdoing, and a sign of political weakness. Furthermore, the admission will impact on those who vociferously asserted that Zuma was not responsible or obligated to reimburse the taxpayer. They will be seen as either stupid or dishonest. It is simply no longer "pay back the money", but rather "payback time" in more ways than one.