Hamba kahle, Pravin Gordhan

15 September 2024 - 00:00 By BRANDAN REYNOLDS
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Image: Brandan Reynolds

Pravin Gordhan, known to friends and comrades as “PG”,  breathed his last on Friday morning. He will be remembered as a champion of revolutionary integrity and a tireless voice speaking out against the rot that had set in under former president Jacob Zuma.

As much as Gordhan will be feted as the activist who combined a towering intellect with a steely determination to overthrow apartheid, he spent the latter part of his life turning those same powers against some of his comrades, in particular Zuma, whose state capture project brought South Africa to its knees, even as much of the ANC membership defended the then ANC leader. 

When Cyril Ramaphosa became president, Gordhan became one of his key lieutenants, appointed minister of public enterprises. However, he had a contentious relationship with his ANC cadres and developed a reputation of being a micro manager with bureaucrats in his department accusing him of interference. He clashed with many, including the EFF in parliament as the party accused him of incompetence. 

During his time as public enterprises minister Gordhan was faced with crippling load-shedding which devastated the economy. Key state-owned entities were on the brink of collapse.

The minister's ongoing struggles prompted Barney Mthombothi to write in 2023: "Rarely in the modern era has a politician risen to the heights of his powers, earning the admiration and gratitude of his compatriots, only to crash and burn like a meteor. Pravin Gordhan’s fall from grace has been stunning.


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