By Deon de Lange
Mo Shaik, an outspoken supporter of Jacob Zuma, has turned the other cheek after stinging comments made by popular and long-serving Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel.
"No comment. I love Trevor Manuel very much," Shaik said of Manuel's open letter, carried in Sunday newspapers.
Manuel wrote that Shaik was "exceedingly arrogant" for taking it upon himself to propose a "great role" for Manuel in a future Zuma administration.
'I love Trevor Manuel very much' In an interview with the Mail and Guardian on Friday, Shaik proposed a job for Manuel "in some capacity", provided he had the "flexibility of mind" to adapt to a more implementation-orientated financial policy.
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"When you have been part of the macro-economic stabilisation programme, do you have the right mind-set for a period of heightened implementation? Would (Manuel) have the flexibility of mind?" Shaik said in the interview.
Only the day before, however, Zuma had told an international audience there would be no change in economic policy if he became president.
Manuel wrote that Shaik held no leadership position in the ANC and had not even been nominated for one of the 60 positions on the powerful national executive committee, to be elected at the party's conference in Polokwane, Limpopo, from Saturday.
"Your conduct is certainly not something in the tradition of the ANC. It is obvious that you have no intention of becoming part of any elected collective within the organisation, yet you arrogate to yourself the role of determinant," Manuel wrote.
During the struggle, Shaik, as a member of a counter-intelligence unit reporting to Zuma, would warn Manuel, then a leader in the United Democratic Front in Cape Town, about possible moles in his organisation.
If Zuma comes to power in 2009, Shaik is tipped to play a significant role as a member of government or in an advisory capacity.
Asked to explain the source of Shaik's apparent influence on Zuma, a source in the Zuma camp said Shaik was not speaking on Zuma's behalf, but simply "giving his view of things based on his knowledge of Zuma".
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This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Times on December 10, 2007
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