Pretoria - National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel on Friday announced that he wasn't a candidate for the top job at the International Monetary Fund.
This follows the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the Managing Director of the IMF amidst sexual assault charges in the US.
Manuel has been touted for the job which has traditionally gone to a European, seeing that Europe accounts for 35 percent of the IMF vote, followed by the United States.
"It is important to understand that decisions take place in the context of world politics. Against that backdrop, I have decided not to avail myself," Manuel said.
According to some reports, this makes French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde an even bigger favourite. However, emerging market powers like Russia, India and China have declared they want an end to Europe's grip on the top job, calling time on a pact that puts the IMF in European hands and the World Bank run by an American.
Manuel said it would be "most unfortunate if we end up with a European who is bound by the EU."
