By Ferial Haffajee
It has been a week shaped by the life and death of Pravin Gordhan, who died in the early hours of Friday, 13 September 2024. Tributes have poured in, shedding light on his activism and the praxis of his leadership.
1. It’s a long game
The late Pravin Gordhan started his life’s work at 22 years old – to the end, he described himself as an activist. Be focused.
Pravin Gordhan 1949-2024 — A servant of the people who connected the dots of State Capture
2. Think strategically
In this tribute, former minister of finance (now Old Mutual chairperson) Trevor Manuel remembered how Gordhan, while banned, had hosted comrades on his apartment balcony in Edward Street, Durban.
There, they worked out how to use organisations that had been started to fight local struggles (against high rents, evictions and for better living conditions) as the foundation for the United Democratic Front (UDF).
The UDF eventually toppled the apartheid state. See the big picture in the small picture.
3. Be on the ground
In this article, Sunday Times deputy editor Makhudu Sefara remembers how Gordhan, as minister for co-operative government and traditional affairs, insisted that Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau and city manager Trevor Fowler be on the ground when there were water cuts or other service delivery failures so people could “feel their presence”. You had to feel what people were feeling, he told them. Be a servant leader.
4. Capture-proof the state
In his final message, written from his hospital bed, Gordhan railed at leaders who sought position for status. He said activists “should ensure that the institutions of democracy, created by the Constitution, are made ‘state-capture proof'”. Fight corruption.
5. Know when to leave
In his touching and trenchant appraisal of Gordhan’s legacy, City Press editor-in-chief Mondli Makhanya wrote of the less salubrious aspects of the former Cabinet minister and activist’s character. He said that Gordhan had been a party loyalist who did not always treat National Treasury officials with reverence. He had micro-managed state-owned enterprises and did not take criticism of his final role as public enterprises minister well. Respect your team.
6. One Mont Blanc is enough
A common theme in the many tributes paid to Gordhan is that he lived simply. He never used a fancy government car, nor did he covet the trappings of office. In this wonderful article in memoriam, Melanie Verwoerd writes about her time as Gordhan’s colleague and neighbour in Parliament. His office was simple. His life was simple. He had one luxury: his beloved Mont Blanc pen. Live simply.
