Johnathan Paoli
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has announced his intention to retire from actively participating in a governmental role, and said that he would not be on the ballot for elections this year.
In an interview on Thursday, Gordhan said that his retirement was necessary because of the need to prioritise both his family and his health.
Gordhan served as Finance Minister from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017, as well as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2014 until 2015 and Minister of Public Enterprises from February 2018.
This follows his colourful and contested tenure as a cabinet member, with some calling him one of the worst finance ministers the country has had and was partly to blame for the crises at the State-Owned Enterprises.
Under his leadership, the country’s debt-to-GDP increased significantly, in stark contrast to the performance of his predecessor, Trevor Manuel, who facilitated a reduction in SA’s debt-to-GDP, an indication of more sustainable and responsible fiscal policies.
The country’s SOEs, including Eskom, Transnet, the South African Post Office, and the SABC, are in deep financial trouble, with the Post Office currently in business rescue, the SABC recording huge losses and requiring bailouts to survive; and the taking over a significant portion of Eskom’s debt by the state.
In addition, Transnet requires support from the state to implement its turnaround plan to reverse the collapse over the last few years.
Recently, Gordhan came under criticism for his refusal to publicly discuss the South African Airways (SAA) and Takatso deal.
The DA’s shadow minister of public enterprises, Mimmy Gondwe, objected to the secrecy Gordhan sought and opposed Gordhan’s request that parts of the deal be held confidential from public scrutiny.
“This is a significant blow to parliamentary transparency and accountability, further covering Pravin Gordhan’s nefarious attempts to keep a veil of secrecy over the SAA deal,” Gondwe said.
Energy expert Mthunzi Luthuli said Gordhan should have been fired or retrenched long ago due to all the parastatals under his watch failing, and that the minister kept giving excuses for the poor performances of South Africa’s SOEs.
“Pravin Gordhan keeps giving excuses. He’s five years into the job. He keeps giving excuses about state capture. He blames geopolitical forces and all sorts of other excuses,” Luthuli said.
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