Johannesburg - Cosatu's fundraising drive to help cover the legal costs of former deputy president Jacob Zuma's pending trial got off to a slow start.

By Friday, the SMS drive had received a total of 247 SMSs totalling a paltry R1 335.

The Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust was registered on July 13 with the master of the High Court.

By sending the word "Zuma" to a specified number the public could contribute R5 per SMS to the fund. But trust chairperson Don Mkhwanazi said top KwaZulu-Natal business people have rallied around Zuma raising hundreds of thousands of rands.

"It could be over R1 million judging from the telephone calls I receive from people who are pledging their (financial) support. But we will know the exact figure on Monday when we go to the bank."

He said some top Durban business leaders who are believed to have come to Zuma's rescue, however, did not want their identities made known.

"I prefer to do my contribution in private. If I allowed you to use my identity, the following day your colleagues will be photographing my house and I would have my tax returns checked simply because I pledged financial support for Zuma," said one of Durban's top businesswomen.

Mkhwanazi said he was not approaching people but was approached by people who felt that Zuma was being unfairly treated.

"Most of the people who have pledged are people who were already funding the Jacob Zuma RDP Education Fund. Last year alone we raised R3m for that fund."

SMS lines were set up with the three cellular network operators - MTN, Vodacom and Cell C.

Cosatu also established an account where people could make direct deposits.

Ranjeni Munsamy, who has been roped in by the union federation to help in the running of the Trust Fund, said MTN and Cell C lines had been operating since the fund was launched on Tuesday.

"We are still having a problem with Vodacom as it is still not on line yet. We are only monitoring the SMSs on a daily basis. We would however do monthly reconciliation about how much money was raised," said Munsamy.

She said the trustees of the fund have expressed frustration with Vodacom since they were given an assurance that the system would be running from day one.

"It's been three days now and the network is not up and running."

However, union leaders, who initially expressed optimism that the public and union members would react positively towards the establishment of the fund, are now concerned that prominent business leaders who could have been keen to contribute to the Zuma Trust Fund might fear making contributions following the dramatic raid on the ANC deputy president and his funders.

Cosatu is now said to be seeking legal opinion to ensure that safety measures are in place to guard the names of all those who might want to contribute to the trust fund.

Cosatu president Willie Madisha said the dramatic raid on Zuma, his lawyers and business associates was aimed at also scaring those who might want to assist the former deputy president during his forthcoming trial.

Mkhwanazi, who emerged as being behind the trust fund, is a feisty past president of the Black Management Forum and a strong proponent of black economic empowerment.

He is the chairperson of the Durban Investment Promotion Agency which aims to lure and advise businesses that want to come to the east coastal port city.

He started the National Empowerment Trust in Durban, and has been a key player of lobby-group, the KwaZulu-Natal BEE Alliance.

Mkhwanazi courted controversy when he allegedly unprocedurally appointed Liberian-born consultant Emmanuel Shaw II when he was chairperson of the Central Energy Fund.

Shaw was alledged to have pocketed R50 000 from a top European oil trader promising to promote the trader's interests with former energy minister Penuell Maduna.

The controversy arose because Mkhwanazi was allegedly appointed chairperson by Maduna on Shaw's recommendation.

With acknowledgements to Jimmy Seepe and the City Press.