[miningmx.com] — A beleaguered Trevor Manuel, who has apparently been marginalised within the ANC following his attack of government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi, may face a further backlash.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) this week quoted the head of the National Planning Commission as saying the ArcelorMittal SA empowerment deal “”is the ugliest face of (BEE), but not the only instance”.
President Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane Zuma, and the controversial Gupta brothers, close friends of the Zuma family, will get significant stakes as part the deal.
According to an article in the Sunday Times, Manuel has denied making the comments.
His office also said Manuel never spoken to the WSJ about the deal.
But according to the Sunday Times, WSJ journalist Peter Wonacott said Manuel made the remark during an interview in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in November.
“Of course he made those comments. They can’t kill it by denying that it happened,” Wonacott told the Sunday paper.
The article stated that BEE is one of several concerns to foreign investors, particularly in the mining industry.
“The result is that one of the world’s richest countries in mineral and metal reserves has been struggling to attract investment,’ the WSJ stated.
Manuel has come under fire from a number of ANC heavyweights after calling Manyi a “worst-order racist” following his comments last year that there was an “over-supply” of coloured people in the Western Cape.
