Former finance minister Pravin Gordhan admitted to hospital
Gordhan, who has served in multiple portfolios, retired from active politics when the sixth administration’s term expired in May 2024.
Former finance minister and ANC member of Parliament, Pravin Gordhan, has been admitted to hospital.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, Gordhan’s family said he was receiving the best medical care.
“The family has requested privacy during this difficult time,” the statement continued.
The family did not shed any details on Gordhan’s condition but indicated that updates would be provided.
Pravin Gordhan retires
Gordhan, 75, announced in March 2024 that he would not be returning to the seventh administration after the 29 May elections, telling Business Day that he wanted to focus on his health and family.
Gordhan has served in various roles in government, first coming to prominence when he was appointed commissioner of the South African Revenue Service in 1999.
He served in that capacity until 2009, when he was appointed minister of finance by then-president Jacob Zuma.
Gordhan’s other ministerial roles:
- Finance Minister (2009 – 2014) and (2015 – 2017)
- Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (2014 – 2015)
- Minister of Public Enterprises (2018 – May 2024)
Before his stint at Public Enterprises, Gordhan was regularly hailed as having prevented a lot State Capture machinations at Treasury while he was finance minister.
He was also lauded for standing up to Zuma and resisting pressure from the Gupta family, when they tried (and eventually succeeded) in subverting multiple state-owned agencies.
EFF WELCOMES GORDHAN’S RETIREMENT
Following Gordhan retirement announcement, the EFF said Gordhan’s decision to retire came after he left a trail of destruction in South Africa’s strategic state-owned companies.
The party said South Africa’s strategic state-owned companies, essential to any effort to re-industrialise, lie in ruins because of Gordhan.
“He spent the better part of his deployment at the Department of Public Enterprises trying to dismantle the state electricity utility company into separate entities to hand over electricity generation to the private sector.
“Since 2018, South Africa has witnessed high levels of electricity blackouts and interruptions because there was a deliberate effort to bring in independent power producers with their exorbitant prices,” the Red Berets said.
Numsa agrees with EFF
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) also labelled Gordhan as the worst public enterprises minister and said it was overjoyed that he is planning to retire.
“We cannot wait for Pravin Gordhan to leave; as Numsa, we volunteer to help him pack his bags. It is an absolute pity that he cannot leave sooner,” Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Majola-Hlubi said at the time.