Manuel, speaking at a business breakfast briefing at the conference, said the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as deputy president of the ANC "added a very strong resonant voice to the plan".

Ramaphosa is chairman of the commission.

"In the past-two-and-a-half years of the [commission], in spite of all his other commitments, he has made an immense amount of time for [it]," Manuel said.

Asked about his own plans, Manuel said he intended remaining in South Africa. "I have nowhere else to go. Nobody wants me, so South Africa is stuck with me."

Manuel addressed a broad range of topics at the briefing - from energy prices to the quality of teaching.

With regard to improving the quality of education, Manuel said President Jacob Zuma "had fired the first salvo" at teacher unions when he said at the opening of the conference that he wanted to see the return of school inspectors.

"There must be accountability for what people do," he said. - BDlive