Presidency mum on benefits for Zuma’s love child
2010-02-04 16:30
The presidency today refused to disclose whether President Jacob
with Irvin Khoza’s daughter would qualify for any state sponsored
benefits.
“If you are asking that question, you are taking it too far,” said
presidential spokesperson Zizi Kodwa.
“The president has no duty to disclose. We can have no doubt that
he has fulfilled his responsibility. There is a birth certificate at home
affairs that registered the father as Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma.”
Kodwa said it was up to Zuma to decide whether he would recognise
his four-month-old daughter with Sonono Khoza as a dependent for the purpose of
membership of the Parmed Medical Aid Scheme policy, towards which the state
makes a two-thirds tariff contribution.
“The president may have more than one policy, he may have three. It
is his decision. We don’t know that. Why must we be concerned?”
In terms of the handbook for members of the executive, children of
members qualify for transport to school and for up to six free domestic flights
a year, although the state does not cover their school fees.
T
he cost of Zuma’s extended household has been the subject of
speculation, increasingly so since he married again this year, bringing the
number of first ladies to three.
His wives qualify for medical aid and travel benefits.
The same rules that apply to spouses also apply to what the
handbook terms “permanent companions”.
Zuma yesterday admitted that he had an extra-marital relationship
with Khoza and fathered a child with her last year.
He complained that the
newspaper expose of the affair had unfairly subjected those involved “to harsh
media exposure merely because of the position I occupy”.
- SAPA