Without Gordhan, SA's SOEs would've collapsed, says Nzimande

DURBAN - South African Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Blade Nzimande said that if it wasn’t for the late Pravin Gordhan, the country’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) would have collapsed entirely.

Nzimande addressed hundreds of mourners at Gordhan’s funeral in Durban on Thursday afternoon.

Gordhan died last week at the age of 75.

IN PICS: Former Minister Pravin Gordhan laid to rest

Speaking in his capacity as general secretary of the SACP, Nzimande said Gordhan was not only responsible for rooting out corruption within the country’s SOEs, but he managed to keep them afloat, despite the odds.

“And given what he did, he did well. I don’t care what the detractors are saying because these detractors are mostly those who benefited from state capture.”

Nzimande said he considered the Public Enterprises portfolio a poisoned chalice, prior to Gordhan taking over.

"He took a bankrupt SAA [South African Airways], a Transnet in deep trouble, and a Denel whose intellectual property was stolen by the Guptas, at least we still have state-owned enterprises today."

He lauded Gordhan for his unwavering stance on corruption. 

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