By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The SA Receiver of Revenue (SARS) held a memorial service for the late for struggle stalwart and former commissioner Pravin Jamnandas Gordhan in Pretoria.
Gordhan is credited with turning around the national tax agency – the South African Revenue Service – and making it a credible and effective institution between 1999 to 2009.
Last week, Gordhan was afforded a State funeral, followed by a private cremation.
His passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy as a principled leader will continue to inspire future generations.
Former finance minister Trevor Manuel said the SARS “rogue unit” allegations had been “the beginning of the onslaught against Gordhan”.
Manuel said the unit had been established to understand how abalone – which was not eaten by locals – was being fished out on the south coast of the Western Cape and smuggled out of the country.
“As we understood how the abalone got out, we understood how our drugs got in, how counterfeit goods got in and we needed to get better at that. Ivan [Pillay] and [Johann] van Loggerenberg and people then said what we need is to deal with this problem because it pointed to other things,” he said
Manuel said the need had been identified to triangulate information about money laundering, counterfeiting and other organised criminal activity.
“If we understand what happens to the money, who has bought what car with what resource, who purchased property with what resources, what are the bank accounts…If you have that kind of information, then you can deal with a tax system that is perceived to be fair,” Manuel said. “That quality of leadership is something that we need to take very seriously.”
Manuel said the unit’s operations brought it into direct conflict with criminal networks, which had responded using fake intelligence.
“And so the idea of a rogue intelligence unit was born, but what they described as a rogue intelligence unit was merely SARS extending its work and saying, if we want people to pay tax, there must be a sense of fairness about taxation,” he said.
“That in many ways, was the beginning of the onslaught against Pravin, the beginning of the endeavour to dismantle the revenue service, the beginning of the breaking of friendships.”
Former director general of treasury Ismail Momoniat said SARS “meant a lot” to Gordhan, which was why it was so painful to see how, despite more than a decade of building the revenue collection service, it was almost destroyed very quickly when the “wrong appointment” was made.
Momoniat also rubbished the existence of the rogue unit, saying it was an “attack” on SARS.
SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has also paid tribute to Pravin Gordhan as a man of his word, who followed through with impactful action.
He says unlike many of his critics who presented South Africans with empty promises, Gordhan’s work was impressive.
Judge Dennis Davis said it was “outrageous” that Gordhan had been treated so badly by “populist politicians, people who in fact are very much in the forefront of corruption and who have the absolute gall to call into question the reputation of someone who I certainly consider to be a constitutional citizen”.
Davis praised Gordhan as someone who stood in the way of state capture when most people kept quiet about it.
“[Gordhan] was effectively the leader of the opposition in South Africa and we should never forget that role because that is a role which you have to play if you are to preserve democracy.”
Gordhan’s daughters have described him as a devoted father who not only cared about his family, but all South Africans. They’ve pledged to continue his principled legacy, and urged all those who care about the country to do the same.