Reports that the National Prosecuting Authority is considering dropping charges against ANC presidential candidate Jacob Zuma are rattling investor confidence in South Africa, said Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille on Friday.

It was "irresistible" not to draw the conclusion that should NPA officials drop fraud and corruption charges against Zuma, it would be to save their jobs under a Zuma administration, she said in her weekly newsletter, published on the DA's SA Today website.

"The following conclusion is also irresistible: The ANC 'deployed' Kgalema Motlanthe to the presidency in order to clear the way for Jacob Zuma.

"Motlanthe's instructions were to preside over the disbanding of the Scorpions - the unit that collected and collated the damning evidence against Zuma - and fire Vusi Pikoli as National Director of Public Prosecutions - because he laid charges against Zuma.

"The next step was the release of Schabir Shaik - as part of a deal to prevent him giving evidence against Zuma - thus silencing the key witness in the case."

These developments sent out an unambiguous message to anyone else who took on Jacob Zuma.

"The ANC has placed its leaders above the law and the Constitution. Anyone who fails to understand this will lose their jobs and their future prospects.

"When one asks why the NPA would withdraw charges against Jacob Zuma in this context, the answer, too, is irresistible: They have been offered a deal that will save their jobs in a Zuma administration so that they can avoid the fate of the Scorpions and Vusi Pikoli."

If the NPA succumbed to political pressure and blackmail, a pillar of South Africa's constitutional democracy would have become part of the ANC's crony protection racket *1.

"Foreign investors don't like to hear these things. When a closed group of political cronies casts the law aside to protect and advance its own interests, the stability and certainty required for a safe investor environment is severely undermined," Zille said. - Sapa

• NPA bowing to political pressure?
• NPA must give its reasons - Dandala
• Zuma's lawyers wait for word from NPA
• ANC: Zuma trial not in SA's interest
• NPA's decision on Zuma may never be public