Shaik 'in Money Mix-up' [The Star, 2005-02-26]

Publication	The Star
Date	2005-02-26
Reporter	Estelle Ellis
Web Link	www.thestar.co.za

Durban businessman Schabir Shaik has admitted that he inadvertently transferred a donation from former president Nelson Mandela meant for Deputy President Jacob Zuma to his own companies.

But Shaik testified yesterday that, when he realised the money was meant for the upgrading of a Zulu royal residence, he tried his best to pay it back as quickly as possible.

Shaik, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and corruption, indicated on Monday that he wished to tell the court his side of the story. The state closed its case two weeks ago.

At the start of the week it was clear that not all was going smoothly when Shaik and his senior counsel, Francois van Zyl, SC, had a few irritated exchanges.

Yesterday Shaik's evidence focussed on correspondence the state said had been triggered by French arms company Thomson's reluctance to pay a bribe to Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

The state contends that Shaik solicited a bribe from Thomson for Zuma. According to an encrypted fax - the only direct documentary evidence of such an agreement *1 - Zuma would lend his protection and support to Thomson in exchange for two annual payments of R500 000 each and the subsequent payment of dividends from African Defence Systems.

But Shaik said the letters handed to the court by the state had nothing to do with a bribe. Earlier in the week, he explained how it was beyond both him and Zuma how a meeting they had with French businessman Alain Thétard could be translated into the fax he wrote.

Shaik testified that he had asked Thétard as far ago as 1998 to consider donating money to the Jacob Zuma Education Trust. He repeated the request in September 1999.

He said that the "opaque" language he employed to refer to the issue of the donation was just his style of writing *2. Shaik told the court that the French refusal to make the donation was a source of embarrassment and conflict between him and Zuma.

He was also asked about a service provider agreement, which the state says was used to facilitate the payment of the bribe. It is the state's case that one payment of R250 000 was indeed made.

Shaik said he concluded the service provider agreement with Thomson because he found himself in a spot of difficulty after inadvertently transferring funds from Zuma's account that were meant for an organisation called Development Africa.

The money was paid to Zuma by Mandela. Half the money was meant for the Jacob Zuma Education Trust and the other half for Development Africa, where it was earmarked for the upgrading of a Zulu royal residence.

Shaik said that rendering services to Thomson and being paid for those services conveyed his willingness to generate funds to pay the money back to Development Africa.

The service provider agreement was for R1-million. The state says it was no coincidence that this was the same amount mentioned in what it called the bribe agreement.

*1 The only "red-hot, smoking gun", but there is other direct oral evidence and numerous items of indirect evidence.

*2 Genuine horse manure. Thetard and Moynot are specific enough about TCSF's intense interest in securing the combat suite contract at any cost, but get very coy when discussing special agreements with Zuma and Yusuf Surtee.

TCSF also get very, very proud of their corporate donation of $2 500 (US or Canadian ?) made by their Canadian division Thales Systems Canada and publish this prominently on their corporate website.

They are also just as proud of their 50% subsidiary's Australian Defence Industries (ADI) to the Yarrawonga Hospital.

More recently (indeed very recently), the world's third biggest defence group, The Thales Group. donated E100 000 (about 750 kZAR) to UNICEF to aid the victims of the SE Asian tsunami, the world's biggest multinational tragedy in recorded history.

It makes one winder why Thales are so coy and intent on their use of opaque language when it comes to making donations to the Thabo Mbeki Trust, the Nelson Mandela Trust and the Jacob Zuma Education Trust.

The latter seems like a post facto donation to assist Thales in the problems arising out of the corruption investigation into the corvette combat suite.

It is as likely that the former donations were made in order to get the corvette combat suite contract in the first place, thereby precipitating the need for the investigation.

All in all, in its many decades of existence, Thales are proud enough of only three donations to sing their own praises.

Donations to the trust funds of presidents and deputy presidents of armaments-buying third world nations are obviously not in the publicity-worthy category.

Thales Participates in 2003 United Way Campaign Thales team spirit shines again! Whether it's work related or community related, Thales Systems Canada (TSCA) employees are always up to the challenge.

TSCA employees were proud to be part of a winning team that did an outstanding job of supporting the community through United Way and for setting great examples of team spirit, giving and caring at Thales Systems Canada. This campaign wouldn't have been possible without the support of management, who kicked it off by making a corporate donation of $2,500, followed by the hard work and enthusiasm of terrific volunteers who organized the special events, and last but certainly not least, employee financial contributions totalling $14,000 - a $4,000 increase from 2002!

The clinic for new mothers at Yarrawonga District Hospital in Victoria has benefited from an outstanding safety record at ADI's Mulwala facility. ADI celebrates milestones in occupational health and safety achievements by its staff by making a donation to a worthwhile cause or charity nominated by the employees involved. So when laboratory staff at ADI's Mulwala facility clocked up 500 000 hours without lost time injury, it was decided to record the event with a $500 donation. The record was achieved over a period of 11 years, by up to 35 laboratory staff. Safety is a way of life at ADI and 500 000 hours is a big achievement by the laboratory staff in ensuring their own well-being and in meeting company goals. The team decided that the hospital should be the recipient of our donation, said Justin O'Brien, laboratory safety coordinator.

The Thales group and its employees around the world have decided to show their solidarity with victims of the Asian tsunami through two simultaneous and joint actions:

At corporate level, the Group has decided to make a donation of 100,000 euros to UNICEF.

Thales will match all employee donations on a one-for-one basis: the Group will donate one euro for each euro donated by employees. The call for donations will close in one month, on February 7th 2005.

Thales’ regional and international entities – the Group has a strong presence in South East Asia *3 – have decided to make donations at a local level. The overall figure has yet to be finalized but currently stands at 150,000 euros.

Apart from being geologically unstable, it is politically unstable, especially Sri Lanka and Indonesia, but also very close to future military unstable countries such as North Korea and Taiwan.