The Lasting Legacy of Pravin Gordhan
South Africa’s recent history – particularly since 1994 – has been shaped by the vision, hard work and passion of many committed individuals. Our Public Enterprises and former Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, was one such person. His recent passing, just months after his retirement at the end of May, has left our entire country – and, I would venture to guess, many others throughout the rest of the world – supremely saddened.
After a brief but courageous battle with cancer, Minister Gordhan passed away in the early hours of Friday 13 September at the age of 75. He was surrounded by his wife, Vanitha, their two children, Anisha and Priyesha, and many of his close friends and lifelong comrades in the fight for democratic freedom.
Even in his final days, service to his country was still uppermost in Pravin’s mind. In a message written from his hospital bed, he emphasised the importance of fighting corruption.
“Activists should ensure that the institutions of democracy, created by the Constitution, are made ‘state-capture proof’,” he said.
Family spokesperson, Adrian Lackay, said his final words were, “I have no regrets, no regrets…we have made our contribution.”
And what a contribution it was.
In his 53 years of activism and politics, Pravin Gordhan leaves a legacy of selfless service to the growth and betterment of South Africa.
Throughout his long career, he earned a hard-won reputation for being a politician with integrity. Over the years, he became known for the phrase “connecting the dots,” referring to the darkest days of State Capture when he linked key leadership appointments in state-owned enterprises to state contracts – when billions of rands diverted from the public good into private pockets.
At his appearance before the [Zondo] commission of inquiry into State Capture in 2018, he was the first person to put a formal value on the cost of State Capture to South Africa – R500 billion – and he placed former President Jacob Zuma at the very heart of the State Capture project.
Speaking at Minister Gordhan’s memorial, former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said, “Pravin Gordhan was the first sitting cabinet minister to testify before the Commission, providing evidence [and] a certain perspective on what had been happening within the public service.”
The many achievements of his long and illustrious career are perhaps too numerous to list within the confines of a single article, but his more noteworthy roles included:
Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from 1999 to 2009.
Chairperson of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa.
Co-Chairman of the Transitional Executive Council, which prepared South Africa for the country’s first democratic election in April 1994.
Chairperson of the parliamentary committee that focused on the implementation of the new Constitution and the transformation of local government in the post-apartheid era.
Chairperson of the World Customs Organization
Twice appointed Minister of Finance, the first in 2009, succeeding Trevor Manuel, and the second in 2015, replacing David van Rooyen who had been minister for just four days.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
Minister of Public Enterprises, overseeing state-owned enterprises including Eskom, SAA, Denel, and others.
Simply listing these roles, however, woefully fails to capture the enormity of Minister Gordhan’s contribution, and his bravery in the face of several attempted smear campaigns aimed at damaging his fearsome reputation as a hunter of the truth and an enemy of the corrupt.
What does, perhaps, convey the depth and breadth of the respect he inspired throughout his career is the sheer number of mourners who gathered for his memorial service at the at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in eThekwini.
Among the many dignitaries who came to pay their last respects to this humble giant of a man and loyal ANC stalwart, affectionately known as PG, were President Cyril Ramaphosa; renowned peace activist, social worker, former politician and granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, Ela Gandhi; Chief Justice Raymond Zondo; Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition; Mac Maharaj, politician and anti-apartheid activist; Blade Nzimande, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), and Zingiswa Losi, president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).
“It was his humility as a person and as a leader that made him great,” said President Ramaphosa. “It was his unwavering belief that a political activist must serve no other cause than the cause of freedom that made PG exceptional.”
Particularly moving was the speech given by Anisha Gordhan, Pravin’s eldest daughter, who emphasised her father’s resilience during a challenging time in our country’s history.
She painted a sombre picture of an alternative South Africa which, she believes, had it not been for her father’s efforts, would have been a stark reality.
“Picture South Africa, where the cost of bread is R200, where billions of dollars have been paid to Russia for a failed nuclear programme, where access to clean water is limited to a bucket per household per day, [and] where load shedding lasts for days,” she said. “A country where there is judicial incompetence, military interference in politics, [and] where the rule of law and access to medication and medical care is non-existent.
“This is what a failed State looks like. South Sudan, Yemen, Syria are but a few examples of this.
“South Africa was very close to this. But this man, our father, is one of the few courageous and honest souls who saved our beautiful country and its people from the brink of collapse.”
Anisha also reminded mourners of the sacrifices she and her family had made over the years so that her father could, in her words, “help get South Africa out of the injustices.”
It was a mission that came with more than its fair share of punishment for Minister Gordhan.
Speaking of Pravin’s role in Operation Vula, President Ramaphosa said, “He was one of those rare people who knew the cost of struggle. His activism earned him arrests, beatings and detention. He knew the perils of underground work. As an operative of Operation Vula, he was interrogated, tortured and thrown into solitary confinement. Yet, whenever called upon, he stepped forward to serve.
“Drawing on his substantial moral stature, he refused to be silenced. He was prepared to confront those who had once been his comrades, whom he had once looked up to as his leaders, but who had abandoned the cause of the people.
“For him, it was no different to when he joined the struggle against apartheid. It was a choice between what was right and what was wrong. It was a choice between standing with the people or standing against the people.
“There was never any doubt where Pravin Gordhan would stand.”
It is this lifelong dedication to sacrifice and service above self that made Pravin Gordhan such an asset to our country.
You will be missed, sir. May you rest in peace, and may your family, friends and colleagues find the strength they need at this sad time.