So after much back and forth, bickering and a surprising lack of hard hat attacks, Jacob Zuma took to the podium for yesterday’s parliamentary question and answer session. Of course, there was really only one question on everyone’s minds and we waited with baited breath to see if JZ would address the monstrous elephant in the room.

In what was his first oral question session in parliament since the fiasco that was August 21 last year, where the evening was cut short by ‘pay back the money’ chants, Zuma finally faced up to opposition parties and gave us his answer. Well, kind of. This is Zuma talking about the events of August last year, taken from City Press:

I was not able to proceed with the answers. EFF MPs made impossible for me to answer question (sic)…

They didn’t act honourable to me. They stopped me from answering questions. What they have been saying in the public that the president is dodging answering the question is not true.

He then became visibly angry and took to a spot of finger-waving with a raised voice. Oh Jacob, what happened to the man who laughed in our faces whilst SONA turned into a dogshow? Zuma continued again:

Why did you say I dodge questions? I want that issue to be clear. I’ve never dodged a question in this Parliament.

Oh how we laughed. So will he or won’t he actually pay back the money, once all the political posturing and ego-inflating simmered down? From IOL:

Zuma said the government task team investigation “did not find that I took even a penny”.

“Then the public protector made recommendations, and recommendations are recommendations and are not verdicts,” he said defiantly.

So it looks like a resounding no then. In other news that is as surprising, water is wet and England are rubbish at cricket.

[sources:citypress&iol]