Pravin Gordhan remembered as 'a fearless cadre' & a dedicated public representative at memorial service

JOHANNESBURG - Former Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has been remembered as a dedicated public representative, who contributed tremendously to the stability of state-owned enterprises.

Gordhan’s close friends and African National Congress (ANC) leaders on Tuesday afternoon recalled some of their fondest memories with him at a memorial service at the Johannesburg City Hall.

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s Neeshan Bolton and ANC deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, are among the scheduled speakers.

The Johannesburg City Hall exuded a somber mood as ANC supporters paid their last respects to the late Pravin Gordhan.

The audience burst into song on several occasions, passionately singing religious and struggle songs in honour of Gordhan’s significant contributions to ending apartheid.

ANC chairperson in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, expressed gratitude to the late struggle icon, saying his contributions to a non-racial society would always be appreciated.

"A fearless cadre, a strategist, a cadre that embraced non-racialism when non-racialism was not a fashion," said Lesufi.

He said that the ANC had lost a devoted soldier, who sacrificed most of his life to fighting for oppressed South Africans.

Earlier on Tuesday, elderly Soweto resident, Roda Molefe, said that Gordhan was among the ANC leaders who weren’t driven by greed and corruption.

"We are here because Pravin Gordhan was our leader. We really loved him. We haven't heard his name implicated in any corruption. He wasn't one to make mistakes, and that's why we loved him."

Former Gauteng Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi echoed these sentiments.

"He is one of the guys that had a good work ethic. And we who were younger than him have learned that you can be a good activist without associating with factions."

She said that Gordhan wasn't appreciated enough for his contributions at the South African Revenue Service (SARS).