Deputy President Jacob Zuma contravened his constitutional duty by providing assistance to his friend and financial adviser Schabir Shaik, the Durban High Court heard on Monday.
Shaik is charged with fraud and corruption.
Prosecutor Billy Downer said Zuma ”at the very least exposed himself to a situation involving the risk of a conflict between his official responsibilities and private interests, and thus acted in neglect of his duties”.
The state alleges Zuma used his political influence to help Shaik secure business deals.
Downer described their relationship as ”generally corrupt”, and this makes up the first count of corruption against Shaik.
Downer said the state has proved that Shaik employed Zuma’s assistance in an attempt to gain business advantage in projects such as the Point Waterfront Development Project in Durban and the establishment of an eco-tourism school in KwaZulu-Natal.
Downer said that in business both formal and informal tendering processes were used.
He reminded the court of evidence led by the defence’s witness Pierre Moynot, in which he said it is an advantage to deal with people at a high political level ”to gain better access to the corridors of power”.
Moynot was from the French arms manufacturer Thomson-CSF.
In the second charge of corruption against Shaik, the state alleges that he tried to solicit a bribe for Zuma from Thomson-CSF.
This was in exchange for protection during investigations into alleged irregularities in South Africa’s multibillion-rand arms purchase.
The fraud charge relates to allegedly irregular write-offs of R1,2-million from the books of his Nkobi group of companies, which the state says were bribes for Zuma.
Downer began his final argument on Monday. The case started last October. — Sapa