Eastern Cape’s Pulumani lauded for his contribution to education
The late Eastern Cape head of communication at the department of education, Loyiso Pulumani, has been remembered for his innovative work in the province‘s education sector.
He died after a lengthy illness.
A memorial service was held at the Mandla Makupula Education Institute in Stirling, East London, on Thursday. Loyd ”, as he was affectionately “called, was commemorated for his dedication.
Those at the memorial included Pulumani’s family, education MEC Fundile Gade, superintendent-general Themba Kojana, national spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga, deputy legislature speaker Mlibo Qoboshiyane and colleagues.
Speaking at the memorial service, Gade said he wished Pulumani was present to witness the significant impact he had made on people.
Gade was referring to the generations of leadership within the province which had converged to pay their respects at the memorial.
One thing we must learn out of our interactions with comrade Loyiso is that character cannot be developed in an easy and quiet environment.
It is only through experience of trial and suffering that you build a character.
You can‘t build character if you don‘t want to be criticised, Gade said.
Gade commended Pulumani’s leadership and character while working as the head of communications. Kojana said: The stability that you see and upward trajectory of the good performance in education is a testimony of the contribution of people like Loyiso.
Kojana quoted words of encouragement to the family: The God in the mountain is the “same God in the valley. Through good times and bad “times Loyiso was there.
Kojana wished the family strength during their time of mourning.
Mhlanga shared his fond memories while working with Pulumani in the field, describing him as dependable ”.
This is a difficult day because every day I speak to provincial heads of communication to monitor and support them. Now there s one call that I’m not going to make,” Mhlanga said.
Mhlanga said it had been a very difficult year and that many people had lost their loved ones, particularly for us in communications ”.
But Loyiso’s passing affected me differently, Mhlanga said. It will take time for us to accept that he’s gone but we need to say rest in peace. There’s nothing that we can do, God works in his own way.
Pulumani is survived by his wife, Nomvuyo, and four children.
An eerie and awkward silence, muffled voices of anguish were the responses to the untimely death of one of the most gifted spokespersons in the government communications machinery.
Loyiso Pulumani was not just a communications practitioner, he was an institution.
It is inconceivable to fully appreciate the public face of the Eastern Cape department of education without recognising as a back drop this dynamic figure — uMqwathi.
Born in 1968 in Komani, Pulumani will be laid to rest in his town of birth on Saturday.
Pulumani was a man for all seasons.
I had the privilege to occupy a front-row seat in the life of this intellectual, when we worked together at the education department in Zwelitsha, in years gone by.
To the extent that communication is defined as a star function in an organisation, Loyiso was its embodiment. Everyone in the department from top brass, management, union leadership, through to the teachers on the ground, were on a first-name basis with Lloyd.
In him they found a colleague and an agent for change. The access Lloyd had to all stakeholders, including top politicians, did not change his personality and mannerisms. He remained a humble servant who made a difference across the globe.
Opportunities to move on did present themselves, but Lloyd was halfhearted in pursuit of them, because he felt at home in the education sector; this for him was his calling.
His academic and political credentials were the stuff of legends.
Lloyd graduated from the University of Fort Hare in 1999 with a master’ s degree and went on to obtain another master’ s degree from the University of Connecticut, US, in 2003.
In 2008 Lloyd and his colleagues launched Building Blocks of Growth, the cornerstone of the brand identity of the department.
This was to reposition education as a catalyst for development.
It is not every day that one meets a colleague who becomes a friend and a brother a man who sought neither validation — nor accolades.
The universe is all the poorer without him, as there are few homo sapiens of his ilk.
Rest in eternal peace, Mqwathi ka Dikela. Death Be Not Proud!
— Mzukisi Ndara, Former EC provincial government spokesperson