Dissent: Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan is furious that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has threatened to sack him. (Gulshan Khanna/AFP)
Former finance minister Trevor Manuel on Friday said Pravin Gordhan faced the end of his life without regret and with the same calmness that had characterised his career in struggle and for the state.
“Pravin lived his life with courage and conviction, never regretting the path he chose to follow until the very end. In this case too, he has demonstrated the same determination and single-mindedness of purpose,” Manuel said at a briefing organised by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation on behalf of Gordhan's family.
Manuel said he visited Gordon in hospital on Thursday along with former deputy finance minister Mtsevisi Jonas, and Gordon thanked him for coming to see him.
“And then he said with the utmost courage: 'You can see, the end is near.'”
Gordon died of cancer early Friday morning, four months after retiring.
He served as public enterprises minister until May but has informed President Cyril Ramaphosa's top brass that he will not return to government after the May 29 election.
Manuel said Gordon's commitment to political activism and public service, whatever the cost, was inspired by a quote from Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci: “I believe that man should be deeply convinced that the source of his moral strength lies in himself, in his own energy and will.”
“If you ask Pravin what drives him and why he is never pessimistic about anything, you will get this answer.”
Manuel paid tribute to Gordhan's central role in organising the mass movement against the apartheid regime in the late 1970s and early 1980s, saying his work was “in his DNA”.
Godhan believed that a mass protest movement should come from students, religious, cultural and civic organisations, who in 1983 came under the umbrella of the United Democratic Front (UDF).
“The idea for a broad united front was born on the balcony of his Edward Street apartment.”
Gordhan succeeded Manuel as finance minister in 2009. During his second term in office, he was sacked by then-President Jacob Zuma in 2017 for resisting a state takeover. In 2018, President Ramaphosa appointed Gordhan as commissioner-general of the Department of Public Enterprises.
Manuel said that when assessing Gordon's achievements, it should be borne in mind how difficult it is to undo the damage that corruption has done to parastatals.
“Almost the sole objective of the state takeover was to liquidate all state-owned enterprises,” he said.
“And by the time PG was posted to the department, funds had dried up and debts had ballooned. Just look at the debt servicing costs of Transnet, Eskom… the list goes on and on. He had to work on the terms he was given and those conditions matter a lot.”
“I think it's really important to recognise PG's work in rebuilding state-owned enterprises and giving them a new sense of purpose and status.”
Manuel said rebuilding the country under Zuma is more complicated than it was three decades ago after the fall of apartheid because “we don't have the resources… we're not starting from scratch”.
“This is an ongoing fight. Our hope is that the state will protect the gains that have been made and continue to move forward.”
Those who have worked closely with Gordon share his belief that the effort is worth it, no matter what the setbacks, he said.
“We cannot give up this fight. We need even greater resolve to ensure the achievement of our democratic objectives that impact the lives of our people, and we cannot relax that resolve.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa praised Gordon for his efforts not only in the fight against apartheid but also in the fight against corruption.
“We have lost an outstanding leader who, despite his reserved personality, possessed deep intellect, integrity and energy, and who fulfilled his duties as an activist and a member of parliament,” the president said.
“During his later years of service to the nation and as a guiding light in the fight against corruption, Pravin Godhan braved ridicule and threats from a section of the public who were outraged by his insistence that justice be meted out to those who seek to undermine our democracy and plunder public resources and assets,” the statement said.
Gordon's funeral is scheduled to take place next week.
