FORMER transport minister and communist party stalwart Mac Maharaj has taken up the post of a director at a leading commercial and merchant bank, he announced on Tuesday. Maharaj, who made himself unavailable for the cabinet of new President Thabo Mbeki selected in June, took up the post at the FirstRand Bank, formed from a merger of the First National Bank and Rand Merchant Bank. He will also continue working for the ruling African National Congress. “I am not in the government, but the ANC has always believed in the cross-pollination of government, the private sector and labour,” he said.