The ANC threw its weight behind embattled Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel on Monday by insisting, in spite of strong opposition from the left, that he would lead the national planning commission.

"There will be a planning commission chaired by the minister in the presidency and constituted by external experts," ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg following a meeting of the party's national executive committee (NEC).

Mantashe's statement was the party's clearest declaration of support yet for Manuel, amid calls from the Congress of South African Trade Unions and South African Communist Party that President Jacob Zuma or his deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe, lead the commission.

Cosatu fears Manuel is amassing too much power in his portfolio and has urged Zuma to make clear that Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel would be shaping economic policy.

Concerns about "turf battles"

Mantashe said the NEC had considered appointing Cabinet ministers to the commission, or a mixture of experts and ministers, but did not do so out of concerns about "turf battles".

"Once plans have been done by the national planning commission, it will go through government structures."

The Federation of Unions of South Africa on Monday also voiced reservations about Manuel's green paper for national planning, which is being discussed in Parliament.

It said Cabinet's oversight role should be maintained and said neither Manuel nor the planning commission should be allowed to veto departments' planning decisions.

Fedusa also said Nedlac should be respected as a consultative body, as its role was clearly defined and "should not be duplicated merely for the sake of creating a new institution".

Mantashe said the panel of experts on the planning commission would not be drawn only from the field of economics, but also social policy and security.

Individuals being attacked in the media

Mantashe said the ANC discussed relations with its alliance partners at the NEC meeting. The phenomenon of individuals being attacked in the media was raised.

"It is not about attacking people, it is about strengthening the alliance," said Mantashe.

"Let's do what's right for the alliance without limiting the discussion."

The economic climate was also discussed at the NEC meeting.

Mantashe said the ANC remained committed to its election promise of creating half a million jobs in 2009, and promised new employment figures would be made available at the end of the month.

Commitment to 500 000 new jobs still there

"The commitment to the 500 000 new jobs is still there," said Mantashe.

He would not be drawn into detailed discussions on the progress of the job opportunities.

Mantashe said the new employment figures would indicate whether there had been a net increase of jobs and argued job creation was the shared responsibility of the state and private sector.

Mantashe told reporters the ANC would increase its efforts in tackling HIV/Aids. This included getting more people tested, preventing future infections and implementing the National Health Insurance scheme.

"If we don't act now, the death rate will soon be higher than the birth rate."