Raw nerve or wilful deflection?

[Dave A]

Sometimes you just have to wonder what the real story is.

Right now there is a big fuss about calling Jacob Zuma's Nkandla residence a "compound". Apparently it's racist!

But as this article in M&G points out, it's been referred to as Jacob Zuma's Nkandla compound by all and sundry for quite some time now.

Maybe it's only racist when the name "Helen Zille" appears in the same story.

So what is the real story here?
Did the word "compound" really strike a nerve?
Or are they just trying to deflect attention away from all the money being spent on the place?

[vieome]

Dictionary
com·pound 2 (kmpound)
n.
1. A building or buildings, especially a residence or group of residences, set off and enclosed by a barrier.

I think it is deflection, if someone called your mansion a shack, why would you get offended . No liberation movement has ever been successful at governing, and this is exactly the sort of thing that liberation movements do, they always use racism to deflect corruption, imperialism to deflect corruption. The strange thing is that many voters will go on to believe the propaganda machine and never spot the deflection.

[sterne.law@gmail.com]

I believe that JZ is being given a raw deal. Reports that the state will spend R230 million are unfair.

Considering that this would be a benefit derived from employment JZ needs to pay the tax, thats about R92 million, so its only costing us R138 mill...less VAT

[Dave A]

Remember the outcry about the money ploughed into Thabo Mbeki's house? How much was involved in that - about R10 million?

And JZ accused Thabo of abusing state resources

[Blurock]

Maybe Zoom Zoom thinks he is a king and wants that place to be called a palace. He is after all earning much more than king Goodwill who has to do with only R50 - R60 million p.a.

[IanF]

Spinning a story at its best.
How can Mac live with himself spewing this?

[adrianh]

Now here is something to think about, does he have a huge Harem room for all his wives or do they each have a seperate bedroom with a special enterance for him. Does each wife get "serviced on a particular day of the week or do they draw straws?

What about all them 23 kids, one big nursery or lots of seperate nurseries with aupairs.

I bet the damn fool is building six full family homes for his 6 wives.

The reason they didn't want Helen to go there is because she would have been faced with 6 big mammas, 23 kids & JZ all running about in sheepskins waving sharp pointy objects in the air whilst stomping around a big bonfire in the middle of the "Presidential Kraal"

[Blurock]

The presidency referred the City Press to the department of public works for answers but the department refused to give comment.
The “handling of information for this residence is protected in terms of the 1982 Protection of Information Act,” the department's acting director-general Mandisa Fatyela-Lindie was quoted as saying.
The revamped house would contain 10 air conditioned rooms, underground living quarters, a clinic for Zuma and his family, 10 houses for security personnel, a helipad, houses for air force and police units, underground parking, playgrounds and visitors centres, said the City Press. - Sapa

I like the "and visitors centres" part. Why was GodZille then not treated as a visitor and invited in?

[adrianh]

A helipad nogal, did he get a rotor attachment for his showerhead. He already has a very active joystick that he can use to direct the shower rotor head. We know that the joystick goes up and down the question is whether it goes from side to side.

[wynn]

the question is whether it goes from side to side.

Apparently Bill Clintons had a decided sideways bend

[adrianh]

Bill Clinton got some "Voice Control" for his joystick

[Dave A]

I see M&G is now calling it the "Nkandla Complex":

President Jacob Zuma was provided with exhaustive details about progress on the security project at his Nkandla complex in November 2010, documents provided to the M&G Centre for Investigative Journalism on Thursday show. They cast doubt on his vehement denial in Parliament last week that he was unaware of the scale of construction.
from M&G here

"Complex" certainly seems appropriate - in more ways than one. M&G is certainly digging into Nkandlagate in a big way, and there are so many related stories it's hard to know where to start.

[Blurock]

Nscandla seems to be an appropriate name.