There was good news for deputy president Jacob Zuma as the trial of his financial adviser Schabir Shaik resumed in the Durban High Court today.

"I'm getting a feeling of deja vu," said Judge Hilary Squires, as he re-assembled court for the first time in 2005.

And, after a six-week break, court room one looked as if no one had been away; the rows of files are still stacked as neatly, and legal teams sit in the same places. The only noticeable difference was the absence of Advocate Anton Steinberg, one of State Advocate Billy Downer SC's juniors, who will return only later this week.

To add to the feeling of deja vu, the state's marathon witness, forensic auditor Johan "the bloodhound" van der Walt again took the stand, for a 17th day in this two-month trial.

Van der Walt had some good news for Zuma. Last year he testified that Zuma would have to use his entire salary to service the interest repayments on the monies loaned to him by Shaik. Today, he told the court he had done two calculations during the recess, firstly compounding interest on a monthly basis and secondly on an annual basis.

Both these amounts are substantially lower than the ones he testified about initially.

However, he reminded the court that the revolving credit agreement between Shaik and Zuma was silent on the question of interest.

In his cross examination last year, Francois van Zyl SC, for Shaik, put it to Van der Walt that the understanding between Shaik and Zuma was that interest would be calculated daily, but compounded on an annual basis.

Van der Walt said that apart from calculating the new interest, he also took into account money Shaik had claimed had been repaid to him by Zuma.

The trial continues.

With acknowledgements to Estelle Ellis and The Star.