ONCE praised as an “incorruptible” crusader in South Africa, Pravin Gordhan has left behind a legacy tarnished by mistakes, poor leadership, and growing corruption claims, giving rise to the question of whether this is a story of a “hero” who fell from grace or is it a story of a man who, in his later years, arguably became everything he once fought against.
His passing at 75 renewed the intense discussion on his actual legacy – whether he was the public servant against state capture or, as is widely contended, a major player in the demise of South Africa’s state-owned entities (SOEs).
Gordhan’s legacy is closely entwined with his divisive stint supervising companies including Eskom and SA Airways (SAA), among others. Charged with rescuing these failing companies, he also oversaw a more thorough financial collapse of the SOEs, costing billions of dollars for taxpayers.
At SAA, Gordhan reportedly sent R149 million to consulting companies Bain & Co and EY for turn-around plans that only resulted in additional debt and public indignation. Extra insult came from outrageous fees paid to business rescue practitioners while the airline was spiralling down.
But his contribution at SAA went beyond simple financial mismanagement. Serious conflicts of interest arose from his holding of bank stocks connected to the airline. Did his choices serve the airline or his own financial needs?
Gordhan openly exhibited disregard for responsibility and not only for the mismanaged SOEs. One obvious violation of Company Law and the Constitution was his unwillingness to provide SAA independently audited financial statements. Defiantly refusing to show up when called to explain his behaviour in Parliament, he illustrated his contempt of democratic control.
The EFF did not hold back its criticism, stating rather plainly, “he died with his crimes unpunished”. For the EFF and several others, Gordhan’s legacy is one of a man enmeshed in corruption rather than of battling it.
Independent Economic analyst Professor Bonke Dumisa hailed Gordhan as an “exemplary politician who did not betray principles in order to be loved”.
“As the SARS Commissioner, Gordhan did not hesitate to take on those corrupt politicians who lived large without declaring their sources of income; it is exactly why certain politicians hate him like this … Later as the Minister of Finance, he was the person who unapologetically exposed state capture head-on, with significant personal negative consequences for him when he was unceremoniously removed as the Finance Minister,” said Dumisa.
The leader of the Abantu Batho Congress and businessman Philani Mavundla, said that “the mighty Lord took his time” on Gordhan.
“He was a corrupt clasist of note, In Durban, in what is called the Albany House where the Provincial SARS offices are, the lease on that building never went to tender because he wanted to give it to his cronies. Their lease is designed to remain in that family for a lifetime.
“SARS paid for the entire stripping and fitting out. The norm is that the landlord will strips and provide a white wall but in that case SARS paid for everything and this happened while he was a SARS commissioner.
“Lusifa has recalled one of his own. I know of no native empowered by Gordhan,” said Mavundla.
Independent Political Analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said that Gordhan was an arrogant man who was always untouchable. “How I perceive him has never changed. The Zondo Commission exposed his ugly side when he was called to account,” he said.
Seepe referred to the opinion piece he authored in December 2020, published on The Star, in which he said: “Pravin Gordhan, a man who has been riding the high horse of political morality was exposed to be nothing short of petty, jealous, racist and dangerous at the Zondo Commission.”
Gordhan had confrontation with advocate Dali Mpofu who reprimanded Gordhan for avoiding to respond to questions asked by Mpofu.
“He had become untouchable. In his maniac obsession of finding everyone wanting but himself, he has been emboldened by the now known motley of journalists and analysts that had been eating out his hand. Until Monday (when Gordhan appeared at the Zondo Commission) everything that Gordhan said about anyone would be headline news.
“With so much investment in this project by news outlets, it came as no surprise some treated Monday’s performance as a non-event – yet it was billed as the battle of the decade, a battle between a represented goodness (Gordhan) and forces of darkness (Tom Moyane),” he wrote.
Seepe felt that Gordhan commanded influence across several media platforms which was why news around his name was always positive.
“Gordhan has succeeded in exposing those journalists that fell under his spell. As they say he threw all of them under the bus. An anchor at a certain television station could not contain her frustration when a field reporter pointed out Gordhan was exposed to be a gossipmonger – all his assertions were based on gossip and hearsay,” he argued.
The erstwhile director general Kgathatso Tlhakudi hearing of the passing of Pravin Gordhan, one immediately thought of his family; wife and daughters. Especially, in view of the negativity that has poured out of social media on the news that Gordhan had been admitted to hospital. “I guess it is the sign of the times we live in that the dead are by default treated with reverence, regardless of the life they lived.
“I worked with Mr Gordhan, when he started his tenure as Minister of Public Enterprises in March 2018, and it did not start on a positive footing. He came through as suspicious of the officials in the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and would refer to the DPE as the centre of State Capture, and an enabler of the accompanying corruption.
“The fact I was a native of the Free State province did not help. He however, got to eventually see that I was a professional public servant and not involved in whatever he believed had happened at DPE.
“When the position of Director General was advertised, I applied at the instigation of his Chief of Staff, whom I believed had been directed to convince me to apply by Gordhan. I did not have an appetite for the position due to the rather precarious terrain the echelon of public service could be.
“Unfortunately, my worst fears became a reality when I asked uncomfortable questions on the privatisation of SAA. I got to experience the ruthless and intolerant side of Gordhan and I paid for it with my career. The country got to see for itself the side of Mr Gordhan that the DPE officials had become familiar with in their daily interactions with him.
“Gordhan shrewd demeanor was evident in his engagement with the Portfolio Committee of Public Enterprises, which was tasked with assessment of the SAA transaction. He could be cantankerous and eschewed having his decisions questioned. This caricature is the lasting impression that the country will have of him.
“It would be amiss of me not to mention the toll Mr Gordhan tenure visited on the overwhelmingly black professionals at the DPE and the SOCs in its purview. Suspicion of wrongdoing or daring to correct misconceptions was evidence enough to put paid to your career.
“The biggest damage was done to SOEs. During Mr Gordhan's stewardship, almost 15 000 employees lost their jobs (SAA: 7 000, , SA Express: 700, Mango: 800, Denel: 3 000, Transnet: 3 500). The SA Express employees did not even get severance packages as the airline was liquidated. The deterioration in the SOC economic performance in the same period has had a devastating impact on the country.
“One hopes against hope that the State will pause to think about the damage that signified the tenure of Gordhan at the DPE, and put measures in place to ensure it is not repeated. A good start would be for Parliament to do justice to the report of the Portfolio Committee of Public Enterprises on the SAA transaction.
"I convey my prayers to Mrs Gordhan, her daughters and the rest of the Gordhan family for peace as they gather their lives after their loss, he said.
Under Gordhan’s direction, the country’s struggling power utility Eskom also fell apart. His leadership failed to solve the pervasive corruption draining more than R200 billion from SOE, therefore leaving the nation in an energy crisis characterised by perpetual power outages.
Load shedding has become a defining characteristic of modern South Africa, and Gordhan’s term as Minister of Public Enterprises is inextricably linked to the nation’s plunge into both literal and symbolic gloom. While he promoted anti-corruption initiatives, the dysfunction went unrestrained.
As Gordhan’s reputation suffered, his supporters cited racialised attacks on his Indian background, mostly from political rivals such as the EFF. His middle name, “Jamnadas”, was weaponised to racialise the issue, therefore, deflecting his poor management of the SOEs.
The story of Gordhan as a hero battling corruption has collapsed and what is left is the picture of a man who, in his latter years, epitomised the exact corruption he had promised to eradicate. Many black South Africans came to view Gordhan’s legacy as one of betrayal — a politician who, following state capture, fell short of the expectations of openness and good governance.
In death, Gordhan is remembered more for supervising the economic anarchy engulfing South Africa than for his battle against corruption. Far distant from the hero adulation originally connected with his name, his inability to reform SOEs, his opposition to responsibility, and the billions of rand squandered under his direction present a negative picture.
Gordhan’s legacy is not the story of a perfect public servant but rather a sobering lesson of how authority may corrupt even the most revered leaders. His time in government will be remembered not for his early anti-corruption initiatives but for the disastrous mistakes he supervised, ones still haunting South Africa.
Sunday Independent