S. African president survives home improvement scandal

JOHANNESBURG- South Africa's parliament has voted against an opposition motion to remove President Jacob Zuma, who has apologized afterthe country's top court ruled that he violated the constitution in a spending scandal.

The parliament rejected the motion by a vote of 233 to 143 in a raucous session Tuesday in which some ruling party and opposition lawmakers jeered at each other and traded insults.

The motion required a two-thirds majority for approval. The ruling African National Congress, which has supported Zuma, has a comfortable majority.

Zuma apologized after the Constitutional Court ruled that he failed to uphold the constitution in a scandal over millions of dollars in state spending on his private home. The court also said the National Assembly failed in its obligations to hold the president to account.

Mmusi Maimane, leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, said "the ANC has lost its way" and described Zuma as a "broken president."

Earlier, parliament speaker Baleka Mbete temporarily suspended the session after opposition lawmakers complained that she could not preside over the session because she is a close ally of Zuma and therefore isn't impartial.

The court said Zuma should have abided by a state watchdog agency's recommendations that he pay back some money. Zuma has since pledged to reimburse an amount to be determined by the national treasury.

The story took root seven years ago when Zuma spent $16 million to upgrade his personal home in Nkandla, in South Africa's KwaZulu Natal province. Zuma and his supporters argued the upgrades were necessary to improve security at his private villa.

An investigation revealed some of the money had been spent, not on security upgrades, but on a list of additions including a swimming pool, a visitor's reception area, a cattle pen or "kraal" as it's known in South Africa, and a chicken run.

In remarks that some South Africans viewed as criticism of Zuma, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said Monday near Johannesburg that it is vital to uphold the constitution and that, in failing to do that, "we have moved away from our duty to serve our people."

Zuma is already under scrutiny because of allegedly improper links to the Guptas, a wealthy business family in South Africa.

The ANC leadership has rallied behind Zuma, though analysts say the scandals could hurt the ruling party in local elections later this year.