To honour Gordhan's legacy, the ANC must stay true to its core values - SACP's Mashilo
The SACP's Alex Mashilo said that Pravin Gordhan was deeply concerned about the party’s significant electoral drop following the 29 May election.
FILE: Pravin Gordhan looks on after being sworn in as the minister of Public Enterprises by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng at Sefako Makgato Presidential Guesthouse on 30 May 2019 in Pretoria, South Africa.Picture: Phill Magakoe/AFP
JOHANNESBURG - The South African Communist Party (SACP)'s Alex Mashilo said that to honour the legacy of former Public Enterprises minister, Pravin Gordhan, the African National Congress (ANC) must stay true to its core principles and values.
Speaking at Gordhan’s memorial service at the Johannesburg City Hall on Tuesday, Mashilo reflected on the decline in public trust toward the ANC.
He said that Gordhan was deeply concerned about the party’s significant electoral drop following the 29 May election.
Several of Gordhan’s close friends had mentioned that he was deeply concerned about the ANC's future, as voters seemingly rejected the party at the polls.
Mashilo said that Gordhan saw the election results as a wake-up call for the ANC, urging the party to pull up its socks before it's too late.
"When we honour comrade Pravin, we must ask ourselves whether we are true to that revolutionary agenda."
He said that the ANC must begin to implement the policies drafted by the founding fathers.
"We say all the banks shall be transferred to the ownership of people as a whole and the state shall lead."
Mashilo said that before Gordhan died, he pleaded with ANC leaders to begin reflecting on their flaws and mistakes committed in the last 30 years.