Minister Pravin Gordhan retirement means ‘good riddance’

The Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) national spokesperson, Sinawo Thambo, says the decision taken by Minister Pravin Gordhan to retire from active politics is “good riddance”.

Thambo made the remarks after the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) on Friday confirmed that Minister Gordhan had expressed his intention to retire from politics when the term of the current administration comes to an end.

Gordhan, 74, has controversially led the Department of Public Enterprises since 2018. Many in the public sphere have so often accused him of deliberately attempting to collapse State-Owned enterprises with the intention to cheaply hand them over to private businesses aligned with his cronies.

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“He departs as a failure who destroyed State-Owned Enterprises and turned [South African Revenue Service] SARS into a rogue, spy institution, that operated as political weapon. He will not escape accountability for his destruction of the people’s assets, retired or not,” Thambo assured.

The department explained that Gordhan’s announcement to retire from politics leading up to the 2024 general elections “is emblematic of the Minister’s desire to be candid so that all critical constituencies that relate to his current portfolio are sufficiently informed of his plans.”

“Secondly, the announcement is intended to set in motion processes to ensure a smooth transition for the Minister and the Department as it is often the case at the end of every administration,” DPE said in a statement.

The controversial minister served as Commissioner of SARS between 1999 and 2009, and was appointed as Finance Minister from 2009 to 2014. He also served briefly as minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs from March to May 2014.