Minister hopeful about future ahead of general elections
Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan sang President Cyril Ramaphosa's praises during his speaking engagement at Mbombela Golf Club on Friday night.
MBOMBELA – The public enterprises minister was speaking at the golf club’s fundraiser ahead of the general elections on May 8.
He said that he is hopeful about the future of the country and that there are still very honest people in government. He encouraged the audience to give Ramaphosa a chance during next week’s elections.
However, he did not shy away from the challenges faced by the South African economy, particularly by the parastatals, of which he has been minister since February last year.
In introducing him, club president Marcus Mdhluli noted how Gordhan was “doing an exceptional job” as minister of finance, as which he served until being removed by then-president Jacob Zuma in March 2017. “Now our economy has collapsed.”
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Gordhan recounted how SARS was destroyed in only six months, since he and others were driven out based on now largely discredited reports about a SARS “rogue unit” – which the Public Protector is investigating anew.
Yet, he added that Ramaphosa has done much in the past four months to tackle the challenges at Eskom, SAA, Danell and Transnet. He also praised Derek Hanekom, who as minister of tourism, has grown tourism annually for years.
“If you do your work as a province, you will benefit from it.”
He also added that manufacturing was crucial for economic growth and that the country’s approach to land redistribution was crucial. “Land must become productive.”
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