/ 30 November 2011

I was called to serve, says Manuel

I Was Called To Serve

Trevor Manuel has a weighty reputation in South African politics, serving in one of the land’s highest offices as head of the national planning commission (NPC), nestled within Jacob Zuma’s presidency.

He cuts the figure of an astute man who wouldn’t be out of place at the head of any boardroom table, yet it is the political scene that has been his home for close to three decades — something Manuel says was not a path he sought, but rather one that he was called upon to travel.

In an interview with the M&G, national planning commission chairperson Trevor Manuel iterates the importance of the new national development plan and how the involvement of the public is crucial towards its success.

“I don’t look at this as a personal issue. I don’t think I would be a minister if it were just up to me — you know, I am called to serve,” Manuel told the Mail & Guardian in an interview at the Union Buildings.

From cutting his teeth as a regional secretary in the anti-apartheid movement’s United Democratic Front (UDF), Manuel has ascended to arguably one of the highest political offices in the land.

After first taking office within the ministry of trade and industry at the dawn of democracy in 1994, Manuel was appointed finance minister in 1996 — a position he kept until 2009, becoming the world’s longest serving treasury head.

Certainly something to be marvelled at, coming from a man with no formal qualifications apart from a national diploma in civil and structural engineering from what was then Peninsula Technikon in the Western Cape.

Many wondered what would come next for one of the few South African politicos revered across the political spectrum — some whispered of presidential aspirations, while others thought he’d be snared by the public sector.

Eventually that answer came at the inauguration of Jacob Zuma as South Africa’s president in 2009, when Manuel was named as the head of the planning commission — a group tasked with charting the country’s course over the decades to come.

Manuel is gracious in acknowledging his successes, and how they have stood him in good stead for the role he now fulfils.

“What I have done has been a progression and I have been privileged to enjoy such. I started out in trade and industry, and moved over to finance … Working in the treasury gives you a remarkable bird’s-eye view of what takes place in government and using that knowledge where I am now [at the planning commission] is a rare privilege,” he said.

Even his political opponents agree that he has proven more than equal to his tasks.

Bantu Holomisa, the leader of the United Democratic Movement — and one-time comrade of the former finance minister — extolled Manuel’s skills, and his honour, to the M&G. “I jokingly congratulated Trevor as ‘Mr Prime Minister’,” said Holomisa. “But that is his role, really. If only we could have more ministers in his mould. Many are so quick to stick their hands in the till, but not Trevor.”

Holomisa’s sentiment was mirrored by Manuel’s occasional political nemesis, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille.

“I have always enjoyed a professional relationship with Mr Manuel,” said Zille. “When our sons were at the Westerford High, we spent quite a lot of time watching the same rugby matches on a Saturday because they were in the same team. I think he has been excellent over the years. He is sharp and incisive in meetings, and calls it as he sees it. He does not shirk from controversy and does not toe a line — he is very astute, hardworking and determined.”

High praise from a woman Manuel once teased about her apparent affinity for Botox.

However, Zille suggested that Manuel was wasted on the ANC.

“I think the ANC is so deeply divided that they are just trying to hold all the strands together,” she said. “There are currently three competing plans on the table, and Minister Manuel’s NPC has been reduced to a glorified think tank, on the margins of government. I very much doubt whether he will be able to ‘land’ the national development plan [NDP] within government departments, but I hope I am wrong.”

Zille was referring to the plan mapping out a course for South Africa’s macroeconomic future unvelied by Manuel and his cohorts from the planning commission in mid-November.

The plan maps out a way forward for South Africa towards 2030 — where government, business and civil society work in partnership for the betterment of the country.

It’s a tough road he’s mapped out, but Manuel remains confident South Africa can achieve the ultimate goal of reduced poverty and unemployment, enhanced growth and diminished inequality.

“It’s very important that we make a call on all South Africans to get involved, Manuel said. “It’s not only about me and the commissioners — it’s about getting everyone on board to bring about the change we need.”