Durban - Schabir Shaik had plans for the African National Congress to hold shares in his Nkobi Group, based on the Malaysian empowerment model, but the proposal was later rejected by the party.

This was said by advocate François van Zyl SC on behalf of Shaik who he is appearing in Durban High Court on charges of corruption and fraud.

Indications that surfaced about three weeks ago were that, when the Nkobi Group was founded in 1995, there had been at least the intention that the ANC and deputy president Jacob Zuma should get shares.

Johan van der Walt of KPMG referred in his evidence to a notebook from the Nkobi offices in which the notes "ANC 20%" and "JZ 2.5%" had been made regarding the shareholdings.

The above shareholdings also had been considered, said Van der Walt.

Van Zyl testified: "Those were merely plans based on the Malaysian economic empowerment concept 'boemipoetera' (empowerment of the children of the earth)."

Shaik will testify that Thomas Nkobi, treasurer-general of the ANC in the 1980s and early '90s, regarded "boemipoetera" as a useful model for South Africa, said Van Zyl.

Shaik co-operated closely with Nkobi between 1990 and 1994 to collect money for the ANC in Malaysia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

He also named his group after the prominent ANC figurehead.

Shaik had foreseen the Nkobi group and his Malaysian business contacts would tackle joint projects, in which the ANC would have shared, in southern Africa.

According to Van Zyl, the ANC rejected such plans in 1995, but Shaik still entertained the idea for some time.

Van der Walt said he found it strange that the idea of ANC shares in Nkobi still featured in correspondence in 1996.

With acknowledgements to Dries Liebenberg, Iaine Harper and the Beeld.