Farewell to a brother, patriot and fierce fighter — we are all the poorer for the journey ahead

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas outside the North Gauteng High Court during the hearing of Gordhan and Oakbay case in Pretoria, South Africa. 28 March 2017. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Felix Dlangamandla)

By Mcebisi Jonas

13 Sep 2024

There are no half measures with PG’s battles. He confronted them mind, body and soul. In a cruel twist of fate, the next battle turned out to be with advanced cancer – the diagnosis coming just a few days after we celebrated his retirement from public life. And, indeed, it was fierce and the full measure.

Six weeks ago, a group of Pravin Gordhan’s close comrades, family and friends gathered in Johannesburg to celebrate his exit from government duties and entry into retirement. It struck me then that “Comrade PG” did not seem convinced by all the well wishes for a new life of peace and family time.

I assumed this was because PG, the perpetual warrior, master strategist and stubborn workaholic was shrugging off the wishes in contemplation of another major frontier of battle. I wondered what that could be and how fierce it would be this time.

There are no half measures with PG’s battles. He confronted them mind, body and soul.

In a cruel twist of fate, the next battle turned out to be with advanced cancer – the diagnosis coming just a few days after we celebrated his retirement from public life. And, indeed, it was fierce and the full measure.

It took all of him – all too quickly for us to make peace with or comprehend.

What remains in the wake of his passing is a proud, formidable and complex legacy stemming from a lifetime of heroic activism and outstanding public service.

At the farewell event, a line-up of comrades spoke of the impact PG made on various phases of South African history. My contribution was broadly on two things: PG’s caring and humanist nature, and secondly the philosophy that underlined the fight he led against the onslaught on the National Treasury.

Because of his tough, no-nonsense public persona, most people would not know the soft, caring side of him. When PG formed a bond with you, it was deep and genuine. Even when you disagreed on issues, he would seek you out and engage on them, sometimes for weeks.

Trademark of a true revolutionary

That, for me, is the trademark of a true revolutionary. It was passion and conviction that drove him, and that characterised his bonds with his closest comrades. The loss of him is huge and profound, but this is probably what I mourn the most.

I thought PG’s retirement from public life would mark the end of an era. Now I know that the era of true comradeship and struggle politics is coming to an end and the vacuum that is left politically and personally scares me.

The second issue I thought was important to mention was how PG articulated the fight to protect the National Treasury from State Capture.

Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas outside the North Gauteng High Court during the hearing of Gordhan and Oakbay case in Pretoria, South Africa on 28 March 2017. (Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Felix Dlangamandla)

I know that people still do not appreciate what we were up against, the brutality of the onslaught against us, and the depth of destruction that corruption and patronage visited on the state.

After one particularly soul-crushing meeting, PG walked up to me and said: “DM (deputy minister), we are certain that we are getting into a difficult period and a massive fight. The one thing I must tell you – we don’t know the end, but we must be there till the end.”

That was the character of PG. He did not take easy escape routes to save himself. He would never compromise on principle. And he did not believe in a scorched earth approach to struggles. Rather, his approach was tactical and systematic, and he never relented irrespective of the pressure he faced.

Struggles have ups and downs, triumphs and setbacks, and even moments when we lose faith in each other. PG made sure we would rediscover our faith in each other. He understood the longevity of war and interconnectivity of the battles.

Sad and enraging

It is sad and enraging that his detractors, including faceless people on social media, have demonised PG and weaponised his last spell in government.

As a public persona, PG was caricatured as two contradictory personas – that of a scoundrel and that of a saint.

The apartheid machinery was the first to cast him as a scoundrel because of consistent activism in different structures of the Mass Democratic Movement, the United Democratic Front and the underground structures of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

But to the millions of people who were affected by his activism – at universities, in communities, in the underground and in exile – PG was the epitome of a selfless soldier. This all culminated in his role in Operation Vula, where his heroism crushed the targeted demonisation.

That angered the apartheid regime immensely as their mission to cast PG as a scoundrel had failed spectacularly. That chapter of history still needs to be captured adequately.

Scoundrel

In later years, during the democratic era, attempts to cast PG as a scoundrel came from within the movement. Those were probably the most hurtful. PG earned much anger and vitriol for his unwavering commitment to justice, the rule of law, and building a citizen-centred state.

It manifested at various stages of his career, including at the South African Revenue Service, where his contribution and impact remains unsurpassed. He led the building a centre of excellence in revenue collection that earned South Africa the admiration of the world.

As a minister, PG faced the worst onslaught, mostly from those we called comrades. Whatever PG did during this period was driven by patriotism and commitment to the people of South Africa. There was never a time when he acted for personal benefit or political ambition. This is something that those driven by the pursuit of wealth, status, and a desire to reframe their legacies would never understand. Conspiracy theories and character assassination was therefore their best resort.

Throughout his life, PG fought for social justice. One of his outstanding characteristics was his loyalty to people, principles, and the collective he was part of. He believed strongly in the idea that collective choices should be the outcome of deliberations that took account of many views. Still, such choices once arrived at should be doggedly defended as a matter of principle. This loyalty to principle marked his contributions to the liberation Struggle but carried through in his leadership of the National Treasury.

Social justice

In his first stint as finance minister, PG’s strong commitment to social justice and democratic principles placed him in tension with the conservative orientation of the National Treasury. But he played his part as the leader of an organisational collective, always fighting for a broad consideration of any question and then defending the outcome to the hilt.

When he returned to the Treasury in 2015, he realised that the constitutional role of the Treasury was now in question. He placed this question at the centre of his work while remaining steadfast on the principle of inclusive growth. Within the organisation, he was a bulwark against the intense pressures the organisation was placed under. He was a protective umbrella, absorbing the political attacks and power plays and allowing his team of dedicated government officials to do their jobs and remain true to constitutional principles.

Mobilising across government

But his leadership extended well beyond the Treasury. Characteristically, he set about mobilising across government, the ANC, civil society, business and academia to help generate a groundswell of defence and support. His enduring legacy will be a set of solid institutions—the constitution, Sars, and the Treasury — that can similarly serve as bulwarks against corruption and counter-revolution.

It is my hope that PG’s legacy will be defined by his sterling and almost stoic adherence to principle, his crusade against corruption and State Capture, and his persistent fight against the abuse of human rights and racism. His was a vision for a just and egalitarian society in South Africa.

We had an ongoing and vigorous discussion on what I perceived to be his exceedingly deep belief in the ability of the ANC to self-correct and renew itself. PG never spoke in platitudes – his arguments were profound and thought-provoking. At the same time, his loyalty and discipline to the movement and the president were striking.

Historically, there was always a strong, noble mission underlying our struggle. PG would be the first to acknowledge that the level of depoliticisation of public discourse now is startling, and the absence of a common narrative about the current political moment is glaring and debilitating. The paucity of constructive thinking around paths out of the political, social and economic morass is self-evident.

Social decay

All of this finds forceful expression in the decay across all levels of society. What also concerns me is the inhumane tendencies, bordering on cruelty, that characterises our politics.

Yes, we celebrate and exalt the leaders in our movement and society. But if truth be told, what some of our leaders and their families endure is malicious treatment through vicious campaigns, onslaughts, character assassination, the peddling of lies and physical threats. In many instances, these are laced with rather lofty conspiracy theories.

PG has had to face all this, including racial slurs and physical threats to his family members. PG is one of the leaders who genuinely suffered and continued to suffer throughout the democratic era. When the target was set on him, it degenerated into a campaign to demonise the whole Indian community. Ironically, some of the individuals directing the venom were upholding the Guptas as representing black empowerment and transformation. Worse still, others used these campaigns to protect their self-interests.

We must therefore work harder to restore the ANC as the historic champion of non-racialism to counter the societal slide towards narrow African nationalism founded on conservative principles and ethnic chauvinism. While the movement is a sea of progressive rhetoric, there is, in reality, a small island of genuine progressive practice. We cannot postpone or escape the challenge to reorientate the national psyche towards the values and principles embodied in our Constitution, and that should be the foundation for a democratic South African society.

So we must ask: Do safe spaces still exist for progressive thought and activism in the broad movement, the kind that PG epitomised?

It must be known that PG was pained by the 2024 election outcome. He was also troubled by how a process of rebuilding would happen. This is one of the debates I will continue to have with PG in my head and in my heart.

In the last few days as his condition deteriorated, I thought back to key moments in our relationship, some of which are still traumatic. But there were also small victories and comical private moments.

I found direction in words we crafted in the Ministry of Finance for the final Budget Speech in 2017 before we were fired.

‘Transformation action plan’

PG told the nation the following: “Our focus must be on inclusive growth and a transformation action plan. Bold and ethical leadership is needed from all sectors of society. In this way we can all embrace a vision of substantive meaningful transformation which will allow us to say we all own our economy. It is not just at the level of leadership that there are transformation opportunities. In our communities, there are strong bonds and powerful traditions of caring. These are wonderful social assets, and I believe that all of us can commit to doing more to make the lives of fellow South Africans better.

“Obstacles there will be many. Overcome them. Detractors abound. Disprove them. Negativity inspired by greed and selfishness will obstruct us. Defeat the bearers of this toxic ethic. South Africans, wherever you are… own this process; defend your gains; demand accountability. Be an active agent for change. Umanyano Ngamandla (unity is power).”

There has never been a time when this vision and blueprint for the path ahead is more necessary. Sadly, we will traverse this path without the masterful strategist that Comrade PG was.

My heart bleeds for Vanitha, Anisha and Priyesha as this was meant to be their time with PG. After all they have endured, they deserved time with him.

It was not to be.

Rest well my brother, my comrade. The journey will be lonely without you. DM

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