By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has granted the late former cabinet minister and lifelong activist Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan an official state funeral.
Ramaphosa made the announcement at the Union Buildings during the signing into law of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill.
This was also confirmed by the executive director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Nishan Bolton. He explained Gordhan’s official state funeral will take place next Thursday in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
Bolton, who was speaking on Friday at the foundation’s media briefing, said Gordhan’s official state funeral will be followed by a private cremation of his body.
He said further details regarding the funeral will be issued by the government and office of the presidency.
Seventy-five-year-old Gordhan passed away in the early hours of Friday morning following a short battle against cancer.
The ANC activist retired from politics earlier this year after serving in the public sector for more than two decades.
Ramaphosa told those in attendance that he managed to visit Gordhan on Thursday.
However, he was unable to have a conversation with the struggle stalwart.
“I had the occasion to go and see and spend some time with him last night in hospital as I returned from Cape Town before he passed on. After that, I was able to get a moment to speak to him even though he could no longer hear me.
“It was a sad moment for me to be able to watch him as he was passing on, on his journey to another world,” said Ramaphosa.
He described Gordhan as one of South Africa’s most principled and courageous freedom fighters.
“We extend our condolences to his wife Vanitha, his daughters Anisha and Priyesha, and to his family, friends, colleagues and comrades.
“Pravin Gordhan dedicated his life to the struggle for freedom.
“He fought to liberate this country from the shackles of apartheid, from inequality, from poverty and from hunger.
“He was driven by a vision of a society in which all people may achieve their full potential and in which all may realise their dreams,” said Ramaphosa.
Gordhan served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017. He also served as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2014 until 2015. He also served as Minister of Public Enterprises from February 2018 until announcement of his planned retirement in March.
Gordhan was appointed as Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service in 1999, after serving as the Deputy Commissioner of the revenue service.
His contribution to the public sector arose from his involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle, including his role in the student and civic movements in the 1970s and ’80s, as an executive member of the Natal Indian Congress and military operative in the armed wing of the African National Congress.
During South Africa’s transition to democracy and in the early years of the new dispensation, Gordhan played a leading role in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) multi-party dialogue and was later appointed as Chairperson of the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee.
The year 2023 marked 50 years since Gordhan graduated from the University of Durban-Westville with a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree which led to him working at the King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban from 1974 to 1981.