The Public Protector, Lawrence Mushwana, has given Deputy President Jacob Zuma a clean bill of health in terms of a strict code of conduct that governs the interests of cabinet ministers.

It is understood that the public protector has found that Zuma had declared a series of payments totalling more than R1 million which were paid into his account over a period of about five years, as well as loans from, among others, the wealthy Durban businessman Vathasallum Reddy.

The payments and loans are believed to have been declared on the confidential section of the register under the Executive Members Ethics Act, which governs the conduct of cabinet ministers and senior executives and determines whether a conflict of interest exists in relation to their financial interests.

Reddy has admitted to giving Zuma a loan of R100 000 and his financial adviser Schabir Shaik has also admitted to giving Zuma interest-based loans.

It is understood that President Thabo Mbeki has accepted the report and tabled an accompanying letter which calls on his director-general, Frank Chikane, to attend to some procedural problems raised in the public protector's report.

Only three people have access to the confidential section of the register: Mbeki, the public protector and the cabinet secretary.

The public protector's report does not have any bearing on the suspended investigation by the Scorpions into whether Zuma solicited a R500 000 bribe from a French arms company in return for using his political influence to secure a contract in the multi-billion rand arms deal.

But it clears Zuma in terms of disciplinary action by parliament which would have followed any finding that he had failed to declare gifts, loans or payments made to him.

The report will come as a relief to Zuma, who has been fighting a rearguard action to clear his name ever since national Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka found in August that, although there was prima facie evidence of corruption against Zuma, he would not be prosecuted as there was no certainty that the state would win its case.

The statement by Ngcuka was met with widespread irritation in senior ANC circles and some sections of the party are pushing for disciplinary action against him.

There are indications that the ANC is moving to isolate ANC veteran Mac Maharaj and senior foreign ministry official Mo Shaik, who have claimed publicly that Ngcuka was an apartheid spy and thereby abused his office, while rallying around Zuma on the basis that he is innocent until proven guilty and was unfairly smeared by Ngcuka's statement that there was a prima facie case of corruption against him.

The public protector's finding, which was a response to a request from the Democratic Alliance last month, was tabled in parliament yesterday along with a letter from Mbeki and is expected to be published on parliament's website today.

Public knowledge of the payments and loans into Zuma's account emerged from the charge sheet in the trial of Schabir Shaik.

Following the publication of the charge sheet in August, Ngcuka referred copies of the documentation relating to the payments and loans to Zuma to parliament's joint committee on ethics and members' interests.

The committee met last month and confirmed that it had discussed the Zuma issue but refused to comment on the matter.

The code for executive members goes further than parliament's code of conduct in terms of parliament's register of members' interests.

The DA's Douglas Gibson first wrote to the Public Protector on September 15 requesting him to carry out the investigation. Mushwana initially refused the request but later agreed to carry out the investigation after the DA wrote him a strong letter of protest challenging his initial decision.

In the letter, Gibson referred to those sections of the Shaik charge sheet which stated that "acknowledgments of debt in Zuma's name have been found in the Nkobi documentation amounting to some R340 000."

Nkobi Holdings, a front company allegedly used by Shaik in the name of the family of the late treasurer-general of the ANC, Thomas Kkobi, is accused number two in the indictment of Shaik.

The charge sheet also stated that on February 28, 1999, and amount of R1.2 million was written off in the Nkobi books.

"This account included one amount which is wholly attributed to Zuma and two accounts which include some amounts attributable to Zuma."

The charge sheet said that Zuma could at no stage afford to repay the "loan".

"Shaik knew this as he had ultimate knowledge of Zuma's financial affairs. Zuma was in financial difficulties."

Scorpions spokesman Sipho Ngwena has vowed that as soon as the "side show" of the commission is over the core investigation into corruption in the arms deal will be resumed.

With acknowledgements to John Battersby and the Cape Times.