PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has indicated he is retiring from politics after the elections.
This comes as the African National Congress (ANC) had a special National Executive Committee (NEC) to finalise its list of candidates to serve in Parliament and provincial legislatures.
Gordhan joins Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor and Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who have already said they will retire from politics after the May 29 polls.
Gordhan refused nomination to serve in the NEC at the last ANC conference in Nasrec in December 2022.
The minister has been in government since 2009 when he was appointed finance minister by then president Jacob Zuma.
He later had a fallout with Zuma after he axed him from his Cabinet.
President Cyril Ramaphosa brought him back when he appointed him minister of public enterprises.
But in the past few months Gordhan has a had a run-in with members of the portfolio committee on public enterprises over the sale of South African Airways (SAA) to Takatso consortium.
The deal was shrouded in secrecy after former Director-General Kgathatso Tlhakudi accused Gordhan of corruption in the deal.
But in a meeting with the committee Gordhan asked that the meeting be held in camera.
He asked chairperson of the committee Khaya Magaxa, an ANC MP, that this was because of commercially sensitive information.
The committee asked Parliament’s legal adviser to go through the documents that were given to them by Gordhan.
The committee will reconvene, but raised questions about aspects of the deal.
Image (Retiring from Government. Pravin Gordhan has confirmed will not return to Parliament, although there’s a dark cloud hovering over his head on the controversial Takatso deal).
