Former Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has died at the age of 75. Gordhan died in hospital this morning surrounded by his family.
SABC News
Family spokesperson Adrian Lackay has confirmed the news of Gordhan’s passing.
Gordhan was admitted to hospital earlier this week, where his family said that he would be receiving the best medical care.
Born in 1949, Pravin Gordhan made his mark in South African politics. During the apartheid era, he joined the Natal Indian Congress in 1971 and four years later, served in its executive council.
He had his share of persecution by the brutal apartheid regime when he got arrested in 1981 for his political stance. He was released in 1982.
In 1991, after the unbanning of political formations, Gordhan was elected to serve on CODESA’s first steering committee and he later became the multiparty negotiating planning committee chair.
From 1993 to 1994 Gordhan co-chaired Transitional Executive Council in Pretoria.
n a democratic South Africa, he was an ANC Member of Parliament from 1994 to 1998, and in 1996 he chaired the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee.
By 1998 he was Chairman of the Forum on Tax Administration. Gordhan was also the deputy commissioner of SARS in 1998 and a year later, he ascended to the position of commissioner, a position he occupied for a decade.
But his career didn’t end there. He became the Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2014 and then moved to the Department of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs, a position he held for a year.
From 2018 until he retired, he headed the Public Enterprises ministry.
Tributes
President Cyril Ramaphosa extends heartfelt condolences to Gordhan’s wife, Vanitha Raju, daughters Anisha and Priyesha, and his siblings Manecklal and Shanta.
Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Neeshan Bolton says details surrounding the memorial and funeral for Gordhan will be announced at a press briefing this afternoon.
Bolton says Gordhan was visited by President Cyril Ramaphosa last night.
“His last visitor late last night was the president. And he passed away peacefully at I think just past 3 this morning. We will be holding a press briefing at 12:00 at the Nelson Mandela Foundation where we will share some of that information.”
