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Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan won’t be part of the cabinet post national and provincial elections in May following his announcement to retire.
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) confirmed that minister expressed his intention to retire from active politics when the term of the current administration comes to an end.
The 74-year-old anti-apartheid veteran has been involved with politics since the 1960s and served in various positions in government.
Gordhan led the DPE since 2018, a tenure Ellis Mnyandu the departmental spokesperson said followed a string of other critical leadership roles he previously held in government since the advent of our democracy 30 years ago.
He played a role as a central figure in investigations during the Zondo Commission on State Capture, which focused on corruption, and maladministration during the presidency of Jacob Zuma.
“This announcement 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,” Mnyandu stated.
‘Gordhan dismantled state-owned entities’
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters have welcomed Gordhan’s retirement and further said he left a trail of destruction in South Africa’s strategic state-owned companies.
“He spent the better part of his deployment at the DPE trying to dismantle the state electric utility company into separate entities to hand over electricity generation to the private sector.
“Since 2018, South Africa has witnessed high levels of electricity blackouts and interruptions because there was deliberate effort to bring in independent power producers with their exorbitant prices.
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“Today, the Durban harbour port is barely functional because Transnet was deliberately sabotaged to pave the way for privatisation.
“Transnet’s operations and human capacity has been reduced to a weak institution that cannot fulfil its mandate without relying on the parasitic private sector, which is only concerned with profit at all costs, including human human lives.
“South Africa’s economy has suffered unimaginable harm because of the deliberate sabotage and collapse of Eskom and Transnet, as they remain at the heartbeat of the country’s economy,” the statement read.
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