'Pravin Gordhan gave his life to politics' - Melanie Verwoerd, former ANC MP

Lester Kiewit speaks to former ANC Member of Parliament Melanie Verwoerd, who enjoyed a long friendship with the late Gordhan.

ALSO READ: Former Minister Pravin Gordhan dies aged 75

Verwoerd first met the former finance minister in 1994 when their parliamentary offices were adjacent to one another.

"We quickly became friends," she says. "He was one of a kind and someone who gave his life to politics."

"One of the saddest things for me is that his family and him didn't get more time together after politics."

- Melanie Verwoerd

As well as being a dedicated family man and good friend, Verwoed says Gordhan was one of the smartest people she knew.

"I still have to meet somebody, and I grew up in an academic environment, who had his brains. Pravin had the most phenomenal intellect."

- Melanie Verwoerd

President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to Gordhan on Friday calling him an 'outstanding leader' and a 'beacon of the fight against corruption'.

Gordhan was best known for leading key finance-related portfolios, starting at the tax office, and would go on to the portfolio of Cooperative Governance and finally Public Enterprises over his 50-year political career.

Verwoerd says he will be remembered best for his principles.

"When the ANC went seriously off the rails, he was so brave and he kept standing up against the things happening during the Zuma regime... he in many cases saved us as a country... and he paid the price for it."

- Melanie Verwoerd

In 2017, Gordhan was removed as finance minister following a campaign to discredit him.

Following his removal, Gordhan invited South Africans to 'join the dots' about the formation of a parallel state.

ALSO READ: 'He was shy, but didn't suffer fools' - Pravin Gordhan biographer

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