Trade union Cosatu said it did not really mean it wanted to get rid of Trevor Manuel as finance minister, merely that he should change his policies.

Trade union Cosatu said it did not really mean it wanted to get rid of Trevor Manuel as finance minister, merely that he should change his policies.

The statement issued on Friday took particular issue with a story in Friday's edition of The Times under the headlines: "Cosatu: 'We want Manuel gone'" and "Federation calls for new minister after elections".

Cosatu said: "As the article below these headlines makes clear, the Cosatu president, Sdumo Dlamini, did not make any such statement, but said that the federation 'will respect the ANC's decision' on who is on their list of parliamentary candidates, and the decision of the incoming president of South Africa on who should serve as ministers.

"Cosatu supports the policies contained in the resolutions of the ANC's Polokwane national conference, and expects whoever is appointed as minister of finance in the new government to implement the mandate from Polokwane." - I-Net Bridge