/ 24 December 2008

Manuel, Ramos to wed

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and his long-time sweetheart Maria Ramos are to tie the knot this weekend, Die Burger reported on Wednesday.

Ramos, former director general of finance and chief executive of Transnet, recently accepted the post of chief executive of banking group Absa.

Manuel and his first wife were divorced in a secretive hearing in the Cape High Court late last year.

He and Ramos have been seen together in public on a number of occasions, most recently the Cape Town launch of his biography Choice, Not Fate.

Die Burger said it understood that the ceremony would take place on Saturday on the Franschhoek wine farm L’Ormarins, owned by the Rupert family.

A L’Omarins employee said on Wednesday however that the farm had no function venue, and that she was unaware of any plans for the event.

Manuel’s spokesperson Thoray Panday could not be reached for comment. – Sapa