Memorial service held in honour of Jack the Mack
GRAAFF-REINET - An unveiling memorial service was held in remembrance of the late prominent political figure MEC Collen Ntsikelelo on 11 June in Umasizakhe.
He was affectionately known as Jack the Mack and died on 12 August 2020 due to Covid-19 complications. Mack was the Northern Cape Education MEC at the time.
In a statement, the Northern Cape Education Department described him as a talented leader and loving and caring family man. “There is no doubt that their loss is our loss.”
Among the representatives were delegates from Pixley ka Seme and the Sarah Baartman region. Pixley ka Seme regional secretary, Michael R Jack, said the service was held to celebrate the memory of the late comrade. “The memorial is a reminder of Mack’s legacy, ensuring that his selfless contributions to the struggle do not dissipate but live on and direct the work of the living.
It is also to reconnect his legacy with his place of birth and reflect on the shining example he set whilst amongst us.”
Mack was the seventh of eight children of Notisi Johannes and Nozamile Evelyn Jack. Wandile, his brother, remembers his younger brother as very clever at a very young age. “He was top of his primary classes. Our parents were very strict and although they were not educated, education was key to them. You could not just fail a class.”
Following his school career Mack obtained a Teacher’s Diploma and a Diploma in Education Management. He also held a CPMD finance certificate, a certificate in Governance and Leadership and one from the Housing Policy Development Programme at Wits University.
In 2013 he completed his Honours degree in Public Administration at Stellenbosch University.
The year before his death he was elected as a member of the executive council responsible for education in the Northern Cape.