SANDF officer denies Nkandla claim

L-R: Deputy President Motlante, Surgeon General Vejay Ramlakan & Nkosi Zuelivelie Mandela the grandson of Nelson Mandela laugh during the press conference held at Milpark Hospital where it was announced that the former president & icon was well enough to return home. 280111. picture: Chris Collingridge 646

L-R: Deputy President Motlante, Surgeon General Vejay Ramlakan & Nkosi Zuelivelie Mandela the grandson of Nelson Mandela laugh during the press conference held at Milpark Hospital where it was announced that the former president & icon was well enough to return home. 280111. picture: Chris Collingridge 646

Published Nov 21, 2014

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Durban - A military general has denied claims that he refused to co-operate with an inquiry into spending at Nkandla.

On Thursday, reports alleged that Lieutenant-General Vejay Ramlakan had refused to appear before the defence force board of inquiry into defence spending on Nkandla, and that he was now under pressure to take early retirement.

“The assertion in Beeld that the board of inquiry failed partly because Lieutenant-General Ramlakan refused to testify is a blue lie,” said Ramlakan in a statement issued by the Department of Defence.

“Lt-Gen Ramlakan has given a full statement before the board and has given extensive evidence.

“As far as Lt-Gen Ramlakan is concerned, he is still available for any actions of the department dealing with the Nkandla precinct.”

Ramlakan said that the military facilities at Nkandla were not inside President Jacob Zuma’s property, but adjacent to it on land allocated to the state.

“All existing Department of Defence guidelines in this regard were complied with to the letter and spirit,” said Ramlakan.

He said the discussions with Chief of the Defence Force, General Solly Shoke, about his future “are part of normal career management and have nothing to do with the board of inquiry into Nkandla”.

Ramlakan, 57, is a former MK member who served for more than seven years at the SA Military Health Services surgeon-general until he took up the position of Chief of Corporate Staff last year.

In April, Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told Parliament that the board of inquiry had been convened to look into defence spending on the Nkandla project.

This followed a question by the DA on how much the defence force had spent on the SAMHS clinic at Nkandla since 2009, and how much defence had spent on other parts of Nkandla.

The Mercury

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