The government is gearing up to lavish more taxpayer funds on President Jacob Zuma’s controversial Nkandla homestead‚ which has already been upgraded at a cost to the country of R246-million‚ the Sunday Times newspaper reported.

The news comes just before 10 public works officials are to face disciplinary hearings this week‚ arising from reported irregularities when the homestead was first upgraded in a blaze of negative publicity more than two years ago.

Undeterred by the public outcry and a finding by the Constitutional Court that Zuma had failed to uphold the constitution when it came to the money spent on his private home‚ the Department of Public Works this week confirmed a new round of work was in the offing.

It said processes were under way to refurbish the property — in some cases significantly — to repair shoddy workmanship and‚ once again‚ to address security concerns.

While the assessment is not complete‚ the cost of additional upgrades and repairs could run into millions of rands and could even involve the rebuilding of some of the houses on the property.