Acting President Paul Mashatile has declared a Special Official Funeral Category 2 to honor former Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana.
Mdladlana, who also served as High Commissioner to Canada for 12 years, passed away on 18 October at the age of 72.
MEMBATHISI MDLADLANA HONOURED WITH A STATE FUNERAL
Acting President Mashatile has also offered his condolences to Mdladlana’s family and friends.
A teacher by training and a former school principal, Mdladlana was a member of South Africa’s first democratic Parliament in 1994. He was also the founding president of one of the biggest unions in the country, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu).
In 1998, President Nelson Mandela appointed him as labour minister to replace the late Tito Mboweni who had joined the South African Reserve Bank as an advisor.
Mdladlana was retained in his role by Presidents Mbeki, Motlanthe, and Zuma.
The Presidency said the Special Official Funeral Category 2 designated by the Acting President will entail ceremonial elements presented by the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The Special Official Funeral Category 2Distinguished persons specifically designated by the President of the Republic of South Africa.
The funeral service will be held in Cape Town on Saturday, 26 October, and more details will be communicated.
“Acting President Mashatile has declared that the National Flag be flown at half mast around the country from tomorrow morning, Wednesday, 23 October, until the evening of the funeral on 26 October,” Mashatile’s spokesperson Keith Khoza said.
RAMAPHOSA CONCERNED BY DEATH OF STRUGGLE STALWARTS
Membathisi Mdladlana’s death follows that of his predecessor, Tito Mboweni, and former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, among others.
Commenting on Mdladlana’s passing, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that a succession of departures of veterans of the liberation struggle and pioneers of the dawn of democracy have recently visited the country.
“In the year in which South Africa is marking 30 years of freedom and democracy, Mdladlana’s passing and that of other leaders takes us back in time to the sacrifices and struggles of our past, the hope with which we embarked on building a new society and the hard work it has taken since then to secure the gains we have made.
“Shepherd Mdladlana will live on in our hearts and our history. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.
HOW WILL YOU REMEMBER MEMBATHISI MDLADLANA?
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