Former minister Pravin Gordhan passes away

Former minister Pravin Gordhan passed away in the early hours of Friday following a short battle with cancer.  He was 75.

PICTURED: Pravin Gordhan

The family confirmed his passing in a statement.

"Mr Gordhan passed away peacefully in hospital surrounded by his family, closest friends and his lifelong Comrades in the liberation struggle in the early hours of this morning."

Pravin Gordhan was best known as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017.

He also served as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2014 until 2015, and as Minister of Public Enterprises from February 2018 until his March this year when he announced his retirement from active politics after this year’s general election to spend time with his family.

He started his life in government politics in March 1999 as the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), a position he held for a decade.

He has been lauded for transforming the SARS into a tax and customs administration which was the best in the world

In the early 1980s, his activism led to his dismissal from the Durban-Westville hospital, as well as detention by police and banning orders.

During South Africa’s transition to democracy and in the early years of the new dispensation, Gordhan played a leading role in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) multi-party dialogue and was later appointed as Chairperson of the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee.

His family says Gordhan understood that participation in government was not merely a technical or technocratic role.

"Rather, it was to advance the high public duty that the Constitution bestows on all of us: to uplift the poor, eliminate inequalities, fight racism, greed and corruption, and create a society where social justice and economic emancipation occur within a far-reaching transformation of our society. He did this with integrity, fearless courage and resilience."

“Bidding those closest to him farewell, Minister Gordhan was emphatic: ‘I have no regrets, no regrets… We have made our contribution,’” adds the statement.

He is survived by his wife Vanitha and his daughters Anisha and Priyesha.

Funeral arrangements and the details of a media briefing by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, on behalf of the Gordhan family, will be announced in due course.

 

Done By: Mitchum George