Pravin Gordhan served as a minister during the state capture years. But he will also be remembered for being among those who pushed back against its architects. Gordhan passed away on Friday at the age of 75 after being hospitalised on Tuesday, following a short battle with cancer.
A pharmacist by profession, in the political arena, Pravin Gordhan was best known for leading key finance-related portfolios in government, starting at the tax office. But it’s also where the campaign to discredit his reputation began. After being unceremoniously removed as finance minister in 2017, Gordhan invited South Africans to “join the dots” about the formation of a parallel state.
It’s a phrase that he would become synonymous with in the ensuing years. Whether his legacy will be that of a hero who put a stop to state capture will depend on which end of the political spectrum he’s viewed from.
Known by many as a no-nonsense person, and one who didn’t suffer fools, the on-again, off-again finance minister also held the portfolio of cooperative governance minister and finally public enterprises over his 50-year political career.
These positions also earned him many enemies, even from within his own party. Reflecting on his career at the start of his retirement in June, Gordhan joked on EWN’s Politicking with Tshidi Madia that he got all the tough jobs in government.
Source: eWN
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