Former minister of public enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, has died. File: Independent Media
Former minister Pravin Gordhan has died due to a “short, courageous battle with cancer after his retirement”, according to a statement by his family on Friday morning.
He was 75-years-old.
In the statement, his family said Gordhan "passed away peacefully in hospital surrounded by his family, closest friends and his lifelong comrades in the liberation struggle".
Bidding those closest to him farewell, Minister Gordhan was emphatic: “I have no regrets, no regrets... We have made our contribution.”
He is survived by his wife Vanitha, his daughters Anisha and Priyesha.
“The Gordhan family requests that their privacy be respected during this difficult time of grief. 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,” the statement further said.
Gordhan, 75, was a committed political activist since his teenage years. He elected to retire from active politics after South Africa’s held a general election this year to spend time with his family.
Gordhan’s family said in the statement, “He 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,” they said, giving deep insight.
Philippa Larkin, the Editor of Business Report, said, “The loss of losing someone is never easy. Condolences to Gordhan’s family. Gordhan has left his mark in the history of South Africa and will always be remembered. In the days to come, as tributes pour in, stay strong as the country supports you in this difficult time.”
Gordhan’s background:
Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan was born on April, 12, 1949 and grew up in Durban, Kwazulu-Natal.
After attending Sastri College he obtained a Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Durban-Westville and completed his postgraduate studies in Human Resource Development. He also completed a postgraduate diploma in Economics at the London School of Economics.
During the apartheid years Gordhan played a prominent role as an anti-apartheid activist. He was an executive member of the Natal Indian Congress between 1974 and 1990, secretary and later chair of the Durban Housing Committee. Between 1977 and 1990, he was an active member of the ANC/SACP underground movement.
Involved in Mkhonto Wesizwe’s Operation Vula, he was tortured and detained for four months. Pravin chaired Codesa in 1992, and the following year he co-chaired the Transitional Executive Council as well as the Multi-Party Negotiation Process.
He became a member of the first democratic Parliament in 1994 and kept the position until 1998. He served on the Council of the University of Durban-Westville from 1995 to 1997 and he chaired the World Customs Organisation from 2000 to 2006.
His last portfolio in the South African Cabinet was Minister of Public Enterprises, from 2018 to 2024, after serving two terms as Minister of Finance, from 2009 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2017. He also served as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2014 to 2015.
In a distinguished career – from March 1999 to 2009 – he was the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and transformed SARS into a world-class tax and customs administration.
Throughout his career as a political activist – including the multiparty negotiations at CODESA from 1991, as a Member of Parliament from 1994, and later as a Member of the Executive from 2009 – he remained committed to building and strengthening public institutions to support South Africa’s Constitutional democracy. He did this with integrity, fearless courage and resilience.
Gordhan also served as the Minister of Public Enterprises, he has also previously served as the Minister of Finance and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He served as the Deputy Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (Sars) from 1998 to 1999 and was appointed as the Commissioner of SARS in 1999.
Gordhan entered South African politics during the height of the struggle against Apartheid. He led and organised the Student Movement and Civic Structures from the 1970’s to 1980’s. Gordhan was involved in the Codesa multi-party dialogue, participated in drafting the White Paper for Local Government and was appointed as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee in Parliament, where he was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the 1996 Constitution.
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