I met Pravin Gordhan for the first time in early 2014 when he visited our (Business Day) newsroom with @Dlaziphi , I think. Over the years our relationship grew into a combination of agreements and disputes, but always respectfully so. There were two things I admired about PG: He was not a coward, and I never had someone (credibly) say he stole public money. On another day I will write at length about how much he fought state capture, and pushed and cajoled many of us to do the same. This took a great toll on him and his family (the BD staff witnessed some of this), but the trait of his (stubbornness) that often irritated me showed itself to be a strength. He could be annoying. No, infuriating! On more than one occasion he would start off being nice but when he sees that you won't agree with him, get very pushy in a bullying kind of way. I'd tell him NO easily as I didn't work for him! He would storm off but next time he would be friendly and respectful once more. And so it would go. He was not perfect. None of us are, but his patriotism was beyond question. For that, I will always be grateful for his life. May his soul rest in peace.