Businessman accused of corruption admits a decade of payments

Shaik has confirmed in court that he paid about R340 000 to the ANC and paid the rent for its KwaZulu-Natal offices.

Schabir Shaik might be persona non grata with the ANC these days, but the ruling party was once happy to take large sums of money from the Nkobi Group boss.

Despite evidence that some of the ANC’s top brass did not want anything to do with Shaik, the party’s structures in KwaZulu-Natal were far from shy to accept financial contributions from Deputy President Jacob Zuma’s financial adviser over the years.

Shaik has confirmed in court that he paid about R340 000 to the ANC and carried party expenses to the extent that he paid the rent for its KwaZulu-Natal offices.

Shaik also told the court that his payments to Zuma should not be seen in isolation. Other leaders of the party with “special circumstances” were being bankrolled by outside parties, and the ANC knew, he said.

Since the trial started, ANC officials have stayed well away from the Durban High Court, even though the party’s office is less than 200m away in the same street.

Before the news of the corruption and fraud charges came out, Shaik was a regular at ANC fundraisers and accompanied Zuma to functions around the province. Now he is a pariah.

His contributions to the ANC’s coffers are among the few issues on which the prosecution and the defence in Shaik’s trial agree. Where they differ is on his intent in giving the money to the party.

Shaik, the state says, only made the contributions to secure business and protection from investigation.

His donations, according to lead prosecutor Billy Downer, were intended to grease the wheels to ensure that his Nkobi Group companies got an unfair advantage in bidding for government contracts.

Shaik’s own version argues that he made the contributions out of commitment to the ANC and Zuma.

His evidence traces a history of payments to and on behalf of the ANC from the early 1990s to 2002, the period which is under review in his trial.

Shaik told the court he had paid the ANC’s provincial office rent; provided transport for top officials; bankrolled payments to defectors from the IFP; and hired vehicles for provincial leaders.

Added to this were Shaik’s business plans, which aimed to bring on board the ANC and specific officials ­ among them Zuma ­ as shareholders.

The trial has heard that President Thabo Mbeki was among top ANC officials who closed down an attempt by Shaik to set up empowerment companies with the ANC as a major shareholder.

The court has also heard that one of the Nkobi Group companies, Floryn Investments (Pty) Ltd, was to have provided the ANC with funds through dividends once Nkobi was paid out for major contracts.

However, the truth of this allegation is still to be tested. Forensic auditor Greg Johnson, who will appear for the defence, is likely to testify about it later in the defence case, which will resume on April 4 after tomorrow’s adjournment.

While the corruption charges do not relate to the money Shaik gave the ANC, his fraud charge stems from the write-off of this, Shaik’s loan account and Zuma’s loans as development expenses.

What the two sides also agree on is that Shaik set up several companies ­ Clegton (Pty) Ltd and Floryn ­ to channel money secretly from his group to the ANC.

Whether Shaik is found guilty or walks free, his trial has provided a remarkable insight into the machinations of political party funding in South Africa.

It also adds weight to a Cape High Court application by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa to force political parties to make their funding public in terms of the Access to Information Act.

With acknowledgements to Paddy Harper and the Sunday Times.