This Friday, the country is mourning the sad passing of the a steadfast figure in South African politics, Pravin Gordhan, who lost his life at the age of 75 after being hospitalized on Tuesday, following a brief battle with cancer.
Gordhan was well known not only for his roles during the controversial state capture era but also for his determined pushback against those responsible for it.
A trained pharmacist, Gordhan made his mark in government, notably in finance-related portfolios, as he began his journey at the South African Revenue Service (SARS). However, his career was also where efforts to tarnish his reputation began.
His dismissal as finance minister in 2017, under controversial circumstances, led him to call on South Africans to “join the dots” regarding the rise of a parallel state, which is a phrase that would become synonymous with his legacy in the years that followed.
Gordhan was known for his no-nonsense approach and his unwillingness to tolerate mediocrity. Over his 50-year career, he held various critical portfolios, including cooperative governance and, in his final role, public enterprises. His positions earned him both admirers and adversaries, even from within his own political party.
Reflecting on his career at the start of his retirement in June, Gordhan had an interview on EWN’s Politricking, and spoke about how he always seemed to get the most difficult jobs in government.
Gordhan succeeded Trevor Manuel as finance minister in 2009, at a time when the global recession was beginning to hit South Africa. Reappointed to the Treasury in 2015, he soon found himself under scrutiny by the Hawks for an alleged rogue unit formed during his tenure as SARS commissioner.
On the eve of delivering a budget speech in Parliament, Gordhan was caught in a political storm, with the Hawks investigating the SARS unit that had been set up in 2007. This ordeal culminated in his firing by former President Jacob Zuma in 2017, based on a dubious intelligence report. In a later media conference, Gordhan famously displayed the report, debunking the accusations that he had met with overseas businesspeople in a plot to discredit Zuma.
Gordhan and his then-deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, learned of their dismissal while on an investor trip to London. Following this, Gordhan took to the backbenches of Parliament, but he did not stay quiet. He rallied others to speak out against the looting of state resources and encouraged South Africans to connect the dots of political events unfolding around them. His efforts would ultimately take him to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in 2018.
Gordhan described 2015 as the year when the full picture of state capture began to emerge, especially after the harassment he and others endured in 2016. Recounting his experience, he reflected, “I was supposed to be killed during the apartheid years, not in a democratic era.”
In a lengthy legal battle, the Constitutional Court eventually put an end to the rogue unit case, dismissing an appeal by the Public Protector in 2021. Gordhan continued to speak out against the impact of state capture on South African institutions until his retirement in May, when he stepped down as public enterprises minister.
Throughout his career, Gordhan faced opposition, notably from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). The party lodged complaints against him with the Public Protector, attempted to physically block him from delivering a budget speech, and repeatedly attacked his Indian heritage.
His final ministerial role, overseeing the clean-up of parastatals following state capture, proved to be another formidable task. Gordhan acknowledged that this process would not yield immediate results, remarking, “I walked into public enterprises when all the disclosures about state capture had already surfaced, the Zondo Commission was about to commence, and the infamous Gupta email leaks had occurred.”
Gordhan’s tenure in public enterprises saw him criticized for appointing André de Ruyter as Eskom CEO and for engaging in private equity talks regarding South African Airways (SAA), a deal that collapsed just before the end of his term.
Despite the constant attacks, Gordhan remained resolute. “My main business is to do my work. If you want to malign me, go ahead and have some fun. It doesn’t worry me at all. I don’t lose any sleep over it, because I know it’s nonsense.”
May his soul rest in peace.
Main Image: East Coast Radio
