The mind-boggling waste of taxpayers’ money at Nkandla was laid bare on Wednesday when MPs toured the sprawling estate.

Twenty-one thatch-roofed houses built for police and soldiers tasked with protecting President Jacob Zuma stood mostly empty‚ gathering dust‚ the verandas covered with goat and cattle droppings.

The only sign that people were living there were a few makeshift beds in one of the rondavels.

The police and SA National Defence Force members meant to occupy the houses — apparently built at a cost of at least R6-million each — are staying in nearby park homes until the completion of parliament’s investigation of the expenditure of R246-million on “security upgrades” at Nkandla.

This emerged on Wednesday during a brief‚ interrupted‚ tour of the property by the special ad-hoc committee looking into the expenditure at Zuma’s 8.9ha estate.

The chairman of the committee‚ ANC MP Cedric Frolick‚ described the visit as an “eye-opener“. There had clearly been gross inflation of prices during the upgrades and action must be taken against the officials responsible‚ he said.