Pravin Gordhan, Minister of Public Enterprises;Photo: Essa Alexander/Sunday Times
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has announced that he will step down after the May 29, 2024 general election to pave the way for a new government.
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) confirmed in a statement on Friday that Gordhan had “expressed his intention to retire from active politics” when the current government's term ends after the election.
The ministry said: “Minister Gordhan has led the Ministry of Public Enterprises since 2018, and this term follows a series of important leadership roles he has previously held within government since the advent of democracy 30 years ago. ”.
His retirement brings to an end decades of leadership in public service.
Mr. Gordhan served as finance minister from 2009 to 2014, a period during which the government sought to stabilize the economy, manage fiscal policy, and promote fiscal accountability.
He was a key figure in the Zondo State Capture Commission investigation, which focused on corruption and maladministration during the Jacob Zuma presidency.
During his time in office, Mr Gordhan has been a vocal advocate of fiscal responsibility, ethical governance and the rule of law, speaking out against corruption and inefficiency and recently calling for urgent intervention at troubled state-run company Transnet. There is. He said the freight and logistics company faces R5.7 billion in losses before former CEO Portia Darby and CFO Nonkululeko Dlamini step down in October 2023. It called on the board to urgently make recommendations to address various management deficiencies.
Mr. Gordhan served as Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from 1999 to 2009. During his ten-year tenure, he implemented significant reforms, including modernizing the tax collection system, strengthening compliance, and combating tax evasion.
He also briefly served as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from March to May 2014.
“We wish to make this announcement that the Minister intends to retire from active politics after the upcoming elections to be frank in order to ensure that all important constituencies relevant to the Minister’s current portfolio are fully informed about the Minister’s plans. “It symbolizes the Minister's desire to do so,” the ministry said.
“Secondly, this announcement is intended to begin a process to ensure a smooth transition of ministers and departments, as is often the case at the end of any administration.”
“Minister Gordhan would like to thank the Acting Director-General and staff of the DPE. Boards of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), management, employees and all other stakeholders for their cooperation and contribution to the reform and rehabilitation of SOEs. We thank them,” the ministry said.
But Mimy Gondwe, the Democratic Alliance spokesperson on public enterprises, said Mr Gordhan had “chosen to pander to the ANC and in the process failed to liquidate the national gains he made during his early tenure as public enterprises minister. “It was a waste of goodwill,” he said. Chaos caused by criminal state capture projects. ”
“Perhaps the gravest charge against his legacy is that he left many state-owned enterprises in far worse shape than he found them, some on the verge of collapse.” said Gondwe. “When former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter exposed deep-seated corruption at Eskom, driven by a labyrinth of politically linked criminal networks, costing Eskom R1 billion a month, Gordan He has decided to sever ties with his ANC comrades.”
“Rather than ask law enforcement to investigate the truth of the corruption allegations, he chose to victimize De Ruyter.”
She claimed that Mr Gordhan “stood idly by while Eskom teetered from one crisis to the next”.
“Since his appointment to the public enterprises portfolio, South Africans have spent more days in the dark than at any time since the crisis began 17 years ago.” As a result, Mr. Gordhan bears some of the blame for the downturn in South Africa's economy, job losses, business closures and the resulting decline in private sector investment,” Mr. Gondwe said.
She accused Mr Gordhan of causing an “unprecedented attack on parliamentary transparency and accountability” by not disclosing the SAA/Takatso share purchase agreement documents, citing third party confidentiality. .
“During Mr. Gordhan's tenure, state-owned enterprises became chronically dependent on taxpayer-funded state bailouts to continue operating. Of this rand, R213 billion has been disbursed since 2018, when he was appointed Minister of Public Enterprises. Despite these multi-billion rand bailouts, Mr Gordhan himself has said that We have admitted that we have only realized Rand 0,000,” Gondwe said.