Johannesburg - The outspoken Mzwanele (Jimmy) Manyi is, at the behest of the Gupta family, a strong candidate to become director general (DG) of mineral resources, Fin24's sister publication Rapport reported on Sunday.

Manyi, an ardent supporter of President Jacob Zuma, is also friends with the Guptas and even presented a talk show on their TV channel, ANN7.

He laughed when the Sunday newspaper, part of Netwerk24, questioned him on Friday about the Guptas and the position, and insisted that he knew nothing about it.