Jacob Zuma tormentor hospitalised

Former Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has been admitted to hospital, his family has said.

A brief statement on Tuesday evening, issued on behalf of the former minister's family, said he was receiving "the best available medical care". It did not give further details of his condition.

"The family has requested privacy during this difficult time," it read.

Updates would be given in due course, the statement added.

In March, Gordhan announced that he would be retiring after the May election.

A year ago, Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises had to cancel its meeting with Gordhan due to his ill health. Gordhan told the committee at the time that a specialist doctor advised him not to travel by air.

A trained pharmacist, Gordhan is a struggle veteran whose career as a politician and activist spanned more than five decades before his retirement.

Following the first democratic election in 1994, Gordhan served in various government positions before joining SARS in 1998. He became its commissioner the following year and his decade-long stint at the agency has been widely praised. During that time, he also received international recognition with key appointments on various forums and committees at the World Customs Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Gordhan's legacy has been soured by his six years as minister of public enterprises.

Apart from the continued woes at Eskom, Transnet saw a significant deterioration during this time. Gordhan has also been criticised for a controversial decision to sell 51% of SAA for R1 to the Takatso consortium, which was supposed to inject R3 billion into the business. The deal, announced in 2021, was finally scrapped earlier this year.

This is a developing story.