Hanekom still stands for change

Enjoying more time with family and friends.

- Eric Naki

Semi-retired former Cabinet minister Derek Hanekom should now have more time to himself to read, play chess, watch movies, walk outdoors, fit in his share of household chores and a plan to do some leisure travelling - at last.

But his work as board chair of South African Airways (SAA) and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation still keeps him quite busy.

"Being political activists our whole lives, my wife, Trish, and I did not spend as much time together as we would have liked and we are now enjoying time with family and friends," Hanekom said.

They became politically active in the mid-70s, and were active in the ANC underground from 1980. They both served sentences as political prisoners in the 1980s.

He was a long-serving member of the ANC national executive committee from 1994 to 2019, when he did not avail himself for re-election.

During the same period, he served as a Cabinet minister under all the democratic presidents - from Nelson Mandela right up to Cyril Ramaphosa - without a break.

Presently, both are members of the ANC Veterans' League, with Trish serving in the league's national executive committee, which occupies much of her time.

Despite his last Cabinet job as the minister of tourism, Hanekom has not been a leisure traveller and did not take advantage of his position.

He was focused on promoting business and leisure travel for local citizens and foreign tourists "to explore the everything our country has to offer".