President Jacob Zuma is a man in high demand from business people who want the first citizen's ear - and he does not come cheap. That is according to Daryl Swanepoel, convener of the Progressive Business Forum, which organised a gala dinner on Thursday at which businessmen paid hundreds of thousands of rands to sit next to Zuma.Swanepoel said companies paid between R20,000 and R250,000 to be in close proximity. The closer the table was to Zuma, the more expensive it was.Individual business people paid between R2,000 and R30,000 for a seat, all competing to be as close to Zuma as possible.story_article_left1"There is high demand for business to interact with the president," said Swanepoel.But he remained tight-lipped about how much it cost to sit next to Zuma and his wife Bongi Ngema. "All I can say is that it's a lot of money."The forum had not calculated how much was raised from the event.But an auction raked in R750,000 on the night. A 1994 ballot paper sold for R300,000, a hand-made bust for R350,000 and a bottle of wine with Mandela's face printed on the label sold for R100,000.Other people merely donated money and did not buy seats at any table, Swanepoel said.But the money raised was just a drop in the ocean. "It's still not enough to run a political party."The list of high-profile businessmen included billionaire Patrice Motsepe, Durban businessman Vivian Reddy and Zico chairman Sandile Zungu.Motsepe was seen walking from table to table mingling with politicians.story_article_right2At one point he commended Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Mzwandile Masina for his "good work". "You're doing very well," Motsepe said.Reddy spent much of the night chatting to Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.Other ministers at the event included Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi.During his address Zuma made remarks about how "cold" it was outside the ANC, which made it imperative for businesses to rub shoulders with the ruling party.He said smart business people would invest in the ANC for their businesses to blossom, and those who did not were putting their businesses in danger."Bear in mind that this organisation does not make profit, it only creates a conducive environment for you to make profit. When you've made profit you must remember who created that environment for you to make profit," said Zuma...