/ 27 August 2009

Duarte heads to the Presidency

African National Congress (ANC) spokesperson Jessie Duarte has been appointed as chief operations officer in President Jacob Zuma’s office, the government said on Thursday.

Duarte is a former chief director in the Department of Foreign Affairs and high commissioner to Mozambique.

She has served as ANC spokesperson since shortly after the ruling party’s watershed conference at Polokwane in late 2007, where Zuma wrested its leadership from then-president Thabo Mbeki.

Duarte will replace Trevor Fowler, who joined the Presidency in 2004. He has denied reports that he was asked to leave.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Manyi, a thorn in the side of white chauvinist business managers as leader of the Black Management Forum, has been appointed as Director
General in the Department of Labour.

Manyi, who has accused white business of failing to meet its black empowerment commitments by blaming the lack of formal qualifications among capable black candidates, and who has accused them of appointing far too many white women to empowered positions, will now be in formal charge of operating the employment equity legislation.

His previous jobs have included being in charge of corporate affairs at Tiger Brands, director of BEE and corporate affairs at IBM, director of corporate affairs and public policy at Barclays Bank, and executive director of business banking and marketing at Nedcor-People’s Bank. — Sapa, I-Net Bridge