Pravin Gordhan: Slated for collapse of SOE, praised for transforming Sars

Although praising former minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan for certain successes, some experts have lambasted his many failures in the several departments he led, saying he had been struggling to maintain his values.

Gordhan a hero or a villain?

Independent political analyst Sandile Swana said Gordhan was part of the group that destroyed the state.

Political economy analyst Daniel Silke said Gordhan had some integrity, but failed to correct the decline in public enterprises. Swana said Gordhan was not immune to the post-Polokwane political destruction of the country and its economy.

Under former president Thabo Mbeki, Gordhan was able to modernise the SA Revenue Service (Sars), said Swana.

But, at the same time, “Gordhan came from the SA Communist Party which championed Jacob Zuma from 2005 to 2007, after which the financial reserves at National Treasury created by Mbeki, Trevor Manuel and Tito Mboweni were depleted and the nation left financially exposed.

“Gordhan succeeded when he worked with Mbeki, but he was a failure at finance under Zuma.

“He was a failure at the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs under Ramaphosa and a total failure at public enterprises,” Swana said.

Silke said: “Gordhan was a politician of some integrity who found himself in an awkward position, having to battle his own integrity values with the deepening decline of moral and ethical values in his own political party.

“He missed an opportunity to put his foot down when it came to correcting the egregious decline in our public institutions and enterprises.”

Gordhan was largely unable to move beyond his own ideological constraints and clearly believed in the paramount role of the state.

“This also prevented him from walking the extra mile to the realm of public/private partnerships that were needed in SA for many years, particularly in the state-owned enterprise sector,” Silke said.

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Another analyst also lists pros and cons about Gordhan’s career

Another analyst, Goodenough Mashego, said history will judge Gordhan favourably for his commendable work at Sars.

“However, almost all parastatals collapsed on his watch.” ANC acting national spokesperson Zuko Godlimpi described Gordhan as a “courageous soldier” whose life was a “beacon of courage”.

At a media briefing organised by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation in Houghton yesterday, former finance minister Trevor Manuel said Gordhan’s “very fine strategic sense” was always there to rely on.

Gordhan was central in the foundation of the United Democratic Front.

ANC struggle veteran Sheila Sisulu said Gordhan was a “formidable comrade and man of integrity who was able to withstand all kinds of weather”.

EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said Gordhan’s legacy was deeply intertwined with the destruction of the SOEs and that “this is a betrayal of the people of South Africa”.

ALSO READ: ‘He worked with the hand he was dealt’: Trevor Manuel defends Gordhan’s legacy