Residents can sign Ma Winnie’s condolence book
RESIDENTS of the Northern Cape and the rest of the country have been urged to pay their final respects to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela by signing condolence books that have been made available countrywide.
The struggle icon and ex-wife of former president Nelson Mandela died on Monday and will be laid to rest next weekend. She was 81-years-old.
While the ANC’s provincial office will be holding a memorial service at the Mayibuye Centre at noon on Monday, additional details of arrangements organised by the Northern Cape provincial government were not available to the media by the time of going to press yesterday.
However, during yesterday’s announcement of the official funeral arrangements for Madikizela-Mandela, the Inter-Ministerial Committee encouraged the public from all provinces to pay their last respects to the struggle icon during the national mourning period by signing condolence books that have been made available at the various premiers’ offices as well as provincial legislatures.
The committee further urged all provinces and municipalities who wish to organise memorial services to adopt the resolutions of their executive and municipal councils, respectively.
Government has declared a Special Official Funeral Category 1 ahead of next weekend, in line with the Presidency’s State, Official and Provincial Official Funeral Policy, for persons of extraordinary credentials specifically designated by the president of the Republic of South Africa.
A national mourning period has also been declared in the build-up to the funeral, which has already seen national flags countrywide and at diplomatic missions abroad flown at half-mast.
In consultation with Madikizela-Mandela’s family, government will host a memorial service at Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Wednesday, where the funeral will also be taking place, next Saturday, in order to accommodate the volume of mourners expected to arrive to pay their final respects.
A memorial service for Ma Winnie took place last night at the St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town.