20110518
reuters

The next managing director of the IMF should be from a developing country to ensure the interests of all countries are reflected in its operations, South Africa's Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday.

Gordhan's predecessor Trevor Manuel is among potential candidates to succeed IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn should he be forced to leave his post after being accused of trying to rape a maid in his New York hotel room.

"Institutions such as the IMF must reform so that they can become credible, and to be credible they must represent the interests and fully reflect the voices of all countries, not just a few industrialised nations," Gordhan said in a statement.

"It is against this background that South Africa calls for a candidate from a developing country to be given the opportunity to be the Managing Director of the IMF.

"Such a candidate will bring a new perspective that will ensure that the interests of all countries, both developed and developing, are fully reflected in the operations and policies of the IMF," he added, without referring to the case against Strauss-Kahn.

On Tuesday radio station Talk Radio 702 quoted Manuel -- who served as finance minister of South Africa from 1996 to 2009 -- as dismissing speculation he may be eyeing the IMF position.

"When the post becomes vacant there should be an open and transparent process by which a new head is selected, but no vacancy has been declared so all of it is wild speculation," the station quoted him as saying on its Website.