The announcement by Pravin Gordhan that he would be retiring after the elections could not have come at a more opportune moment.
He has reached the nadir of his career and has lost his lustre. And I will agree with the DA that he was a “lackey” of the ANC, losing all credibility, in my view, when he betrayed Eskom’s former CEO, André de Ruyter.
The members of the EFF will be jubilant; they were always circling over Gordhan like vultures, waiting for his end. Notwithstanding Gordhan’s perceived failures, what I will not countenance are the comments by Numsa, that he and he alone collapsed SOEs.
Did Gordhan and his Gugeratispeaking relatives sing, dance, toyitoyi and disrupt work at the Medupi power station with strike action over several years, hindering progress and compromising the quality of the work?
Did Gordhan and his friends vandalise power stations and steal, and are continuing to steal, power cables? If Gordhan caused the collapse of SAA, then what role did Dudu Myeni, who is now heading the Jacob Zuma Foundation, play in its demise?
It is grossly dishonest of the EFF and Numsa to blame Gordhan for all the ills besetting South Africa at the moment. If Gordhan had been one of their black compatriots, and as corrupt as some of them are, they would not hate him so much.
That Pravin Gordhan was plucky, with a dollop of enviable chutzpah, is not in doubt. I enjoyed his cheeky responses to Dali Mpofu’s racebaiting at the Zondo Commission.
Who can forget how he faced down Julius Malema and his hooligans when they approached him threateningly in Parliament? “Let them touch me!” he said.
What Malema and his Red Army did not know is that Gordhan is a city boy, born in Durban’s Casbah area, who can handle rough stuff when necessary.
In his retirement he could write his memoirs. Here’s a sub-title, Pravin: “Connecting the Dots”!
* Harry Sewlall, Parkmore.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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