Tributes as education MEC dies
TRIBUTES are pouring in for Limpopo Education MEC Thembisile Nwedamutswu, who died on Friday at a Pretoria hospital after a long illness. She was 54 years old.
Nwedamutswu, who had been in the position since June last year, had been “in and out of hospital”, according to her department's spokesman, Paena Galane.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga yesterday expressed shock at Nwedamutswu’s death.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing away of a comrade and colleague in that province,” Motshekga said.
“She was a hard-working and committed leader and she will be sorely missed.”
Motshekga said Nwedamutswu, who was the ANC’s treasurer in Limpopo, had shown “great leadership and potential”.
Limpopo premier Stanley Mathabatha said Nwedamutswu had “brilliant ideas”.
“Although she had only been in the post for about nine months, she was on top of issues,” he said.
“She understood the systems and the curriculum. I don’t know how I am going to fill the void she’s left.”
The Limpopo education department said in a statement: “In her former post as the CEO of the Independent Development Trust she succeeded in turning around the organisation into a highly respected and world-class agency for development [which] boasts 10 consecutive unqualified audits during her tenure.”
The department said Nwedamutswu had an established record of strong leadership in fiscal management.
She oversaw multibillion-rand budgets at the trust and within government, it said.
During the struggle, she also successfully managed the ANC fund in Dar es Salaam and the party’s international defence and aid fund in the UK.
“[Nwedamutswu] also had corporate experience with Standard Bank in Swaziland based on a very solid foundation,” the department said.—