Rumours of the passing of former Public Enterprise Minister Pravin Gordhan (75) have been put to rest, with his family confirming his untimely death this morning. The bereaved family issued a statement saying: "Gordhan passed away peacefully in the hospital, surrounded by his family, closest friends and his lifelong Comrades in the liberation struggle in the early hours of this morning."

A POLITICAL SPEAR

Gordhan is survived by his wife Vanitha and their daughters Anisha and Priyesha. His family said he was a committed political activist since his teenage years. Gordhan's last post in the South African Cabinet was Minister of Public Enterprises, which he held between 2018 and May 2024. He also served two terms as Minister of Finance, from 2009 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2017. Gordhan was also a Minister of Cooperative Gavernance and Traditional Attairs from 2014 to 2015. In a distinguished career - from March 1999 to 2009 - he was the Commissioner of the South African Ravanue Service (SARS) and transformed SARS into a world-class tax and custom institution. Gordhan departs from this earth after he had chosen to retire from active politics following this year's general elections to spend time with his family.

NO REGRETS

His family described him as emphatic because even on his deathbed he had the interests of others in mind. "I have no regrets. We have made our contribution," said Gordhan in hospital. Since the early 1970s, Gordhan has remained a loyal and active member of the ANC/SACP underground forces and was imprisoned three times by the apartheid government. In 1981, he was held in solitary confinement for 160 days. The Gordhan family requests that their privacy be respected during this difficult time of grief.

AN OUTSTANDING LEADER

President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his deep condolences to Gordhan's family. President Ramaphosa said in statement: "We have lost an outstanding leader whose unassuming persona belied the depth of intellect, integrity and energy with which he undertook his activism, his duty as a parliamentarian and his roles as a member of Cabinet. Pravin Gordhan's personal sacrifices and his endeavours and achievements in various sectors of our society endowed him with the insights, empathy and resilience that fuelled his service to the nation," the President said. He added:"In the latter years of this service to the nation, and as a beacon of our fight against corruption, Pravin Gordhan stood up to derision and threats emanating from some in our nation who were scorched by his insistence that justice be dispensed against those who sought to undermine our democracy and raid our public resources and assets. During his decades of revolutionary dedication to making South Africa a better place, Pravin Gordhan and his family were deprived of much needed and deserved time together. As we mourn his passing, we remain grateful for his life of sacrifice and service and his sustained striving for the realisation of the vision and dictates of our Constitution," Ramaphosa said. Funeral arrangements and the details of a media briefing by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation will be held at noon today.