Gordhan: The ANC is on the mend

The event took place at the Constitution Hill in Braamfontein.

Several high-profile South Africans shared their memories of Kathrada, including the recently reappointed Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan.  

Gordhan said he always admired Kathrada's resilience.

"The kind of resilience that Kathy and his generation demonstrated is very clear as well. What we have to watch out for is what several people and comrades have said already that this is just the beginning of the struggle to just recover from the last ten years. The fulfillment of the potential that this country has for the future is still to come. We are in the recovery phase, the quicker we can get to the bottom of some the challenges that we have, the quicker we can say we have put the past behind us."

Gordhan also took a jab at the African National Congress' (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule. 

"There is no doubt that Nasrec has introduced a new dawn a new era. It has introduced a new optimism in the country, people's shoulders feel lighter their heads are clearer. Their energy is coming back in some ways, and there's a wave of optimism. It's an optimism marked with a realistic sense of the challenges that lie in front of us. Is it tomorrow, that there will be a R20 million party of public money, to celebrate the departure of the ANC SG from the Free State?" 

It has emerged that Free State province will spend R20 million of tax payers' money for Magashule's farewell as Premier. Magashule and his daughter have also been implicated in a housing scandal, where it is believed that his daughter scored at least R150 million.

But Gordhan said there ANC members are determined to fix what is wrong with the party. 

"The ANC itself is on the mend there's no doubt, but let's not fool ourselves, there is a huge fight back to recover lost ground so to speak. And the democrats across the board have it in their interests to make sure that the governing party remains the governing party because it still has the greatest potential to deliver the kind of programme and transformation the country requires."