By Alex Eliseev
If Jacob Zuma is the unstoppable tsunami, then Paul Mashatile is the wave of power and influence washing over South Africa's wealthiest province.
But the man likely to replace Mbhazima Shilowa as Gauteng's fourth premier has had a great deal of trouble keeping his head above the murky waters of controversy.
Mashatile has been dubbed "don of the Alex mafia" - a shadowy network of powerful people from Alexandra township - accused of not declaring his stake in various companies to the tune of R50-million, awarding dodgy tenders and blowing hundreds of thousands of rands (courtesy of the taxpayer) at a Sandton restaurant.
And who could forget his endorsement of the disastrous - and now derailed - R12-billion monorail project last year.
But Mashatile keeps the country's economic heart beating, and the annual provincial budget under his command as the MEC for finance and economic development is more than R40-billion.
Despite all the controversies, 46-year-old Mashatile beat his rival, Education MEC Angie Motshekga, for the post of ANC provincial chairperson last year.
His election to this senior role, ahead of the ANC's Polokwane conference, fuelled speculation that he would be the province's next premier and that the election was part of the transition.
Besides his MEC duties, Mashatile is the political head of an array of entities, such as the Gauteng Economic Development Agency, Gauteng Shared Services Centre, Gauteng Tourism Authority, Gauteng Film Commission, the gambling and liquor boards, Blue IQ, and Gauteng Enterprise Propeller.