The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has hailed Pravin Gordhan's retirement announcement. However, they are calling for accountability from the man they believe tanked the country’s State-Owned Enterprises, including Eskom.
"We demand justice, on behalf of the working class which has suffered immeasurably under his tenure," NUMSA general secretary, Irvin Jim, said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Gordhan indicated his retirement from politics after the May 29 elections.
Jim described Gordhan as the "the worst minister since the advent of democracy."
"We cannot wait for him to leave, in fact, as NUMSA we volunteer to help him pack his bags. It is an absolute pity that he cannot leave sooner. Good riddance to bad rubbish," he said.
Jim blamed the fall of the country's State-Owned Enterprises (SOE's) on Gordhan saying most are in a series state of disarray.
"It is a painful irony that Gordhan once served as a member of the South African Communist Party Central Committee because his actions have been a relentless and brutal attack on workers and their families. His values are the opposite of Communism and its noble ideals, which are to advance and to improve the lives of the working class," Jim said.
He said Gordhan's legacy is characterised by the near-collapse of Denel, the more than 800 workers who lost their jobs when SA Express closed, South African Airways being placed under business rescue, Eskom's frequent load shedding and failures at Mango airlines.
"Gordhan has single-handedly contributed to hundreds of thousands of job losses during his tenure and the destruction of livelihoods. He has contributed to the country’s poor economic performance because of the destruction of SOEs," Jim said.
He added that as much as NUMSA wants Gordhan to leave, they want him to be accountable.
Gordhan has been in government since 2009 when he was appointed finance minister by then president Jacob Zuma.
IOL