Gordhan’s work ethic remembered by his KZN colleagues

The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal says it is mourning the passing of struggle stalwart Pravin Gordhan‘s activism in the fight against apartheid and commitment to help steer South Africa towards democracy.

Gordhan was born in Durban on the 12th of April 1949. He matriculated at Sastri college in 1967 and in 1973 graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the then University of Natal, at the Durban-Westville campus – now the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Gordhan became active as a student in the anti-apartheid struggle at the institution where black and white students were segregated. He joined the Natal Indian Congress in 1971 and was elected to its executive council in 1974.

During this time he helped build community organisations and became involved in underground activities of the ANC and the South African Communist Party.

He was detained by the security police a number of times and was fired by the Natal Provincial Administration while working at King Edward VIII Hospital in 1981 for his political activity.

He was released from prison in 1982 and received banning orders effective until June 1983.

A former activist in the Black Sash, Coral Vincent who also supported the Durban detainees, remembered the time Gordhan was sick with Tuberculosis and suffered discrimination while working for the apartheid government.

Vincent says ” The MEC for Health was Dr Fred Clark because Pravin Gordhan was an Indian, he was the only temporary employee even though he was a pharmacist.  So, when he got TB, he didn’t take sick leave or sick pay and I thought that was very unjust, so I wrote to Dr Fred Clark to complain about it what I thought was an injustice, but he never replied.

‘Putting an end to corruption’

Whilst whistleblower in South African Airways, Cyntia Stimpel recalled Gordhan’s role in government in putting an end to corruption in the state-owned entity while he was Minister of Finance.

A position he occupied between 2009 and 2014 and again from 2015 to 2017.

Stimpel says “We as SAA had to report to him. I remember there was a corrupt deal with BNP Capital and I wrote about it to the National Treasury, from where I sat, I couldn’t see what happened but when the Zondo Commission happened to see the evidence that he did try and stop it. But his team from there instructed the then Chairperson Dudu Myeni to stop the transaction but obviously she still carried on with it without letting senior management know.”

Gordhan, like many former activists in the ANC, has in recent years, spoken out against the effect of the systemic corruption in government and the ANC, which threatened to taint the proud legacy of the former liberation organisation.

The Gordhan family says funeral arrangements are to be announced at a later stage.

Ela Gandhi pays tribute to Pravin Gordhan