Cape Town - The state of the register of all financial interests of members of the South African cabinet has been declared by the Public Protector as being inadequate.

This follows a finding released on Wednesday that clears Deputy President Jacob Zuma of certain allegations that he had not fully declared his interests in the register, required in terms of the executive ethics code.

Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana said during the investigation it was noted "with concern that the format of the current register causes some confusion as to exactly where and in how much detail interests should be declared".

"It was also noted that details such as dates of declarations, values of interests, addresses of private residences, value and duration of liabilities, source and value of pensions are not meticulously kept by the secretary." The cabinet secretary is Reverend Frank Chikane.

The protector, himself a former ANC member of parliament, said: "These shortcomings can lead to serious difficulties in interpreting the contents of the register, which might lead to wrong perceptions and unfair comment."

With acknowledgements to Donwald Pressly and News24.