<\/p>\n
Cape Town – The ANC has declared a period of mourning following the death of its deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, who died in the early hours of Sunday after a battle with cancer.<\/p>\n
This as President Cyril Ramaphosa designated Duarte\u2019s funeral as a Special Official Funeral Category 2.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa was expected to deliver the eulogy at the funeral on Sunday afternoon at Westpark cemetery in Joburg.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be guided by their (Duarte\u2019s family) wishes on her send-off, which will be conducted in line with Muslim religious beliefs,\u201d ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile said.<\/p>\n
Mashatile said the governing party had declared from Sunday a week of mourning for Duarte.<\/p>\n
\u201cProvinces of the ANC have been directed to fly the ANC flag at half mast. Each province is expected to organise a provincial memorial service during this period,\u201d Mashatile said.<\/p>\n
He said the national memorial service will take place on Thursday at a venue still to be announced.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll details, including the venue, will be communicated at a later stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mashatile said the ANC learnt with shock of the passing of Duarte, who succumbed to a long illness that forced her to take leave of absence from work since 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were hopeful as the ANC she would recover from the illness in time to continue in her role and responsibilities at the helm of ANC political administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer death has found us unprepared for the worst that we have to contend with now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Recalling when she took ill, Mashatile said they had thought it was just fatigue due to the 2021 local government elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did not know it would turn to this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mashatile said the ANC was highly indebted to Duarte for her sterling contribution, both as activist and a leader of the ANC and its Alliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe vindicated herself in all responsibilities as a dependable and principled leader who spoke her mind within the confines of our platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
He described Duarte as one of the best deputy secretary-generals the ANC ever had.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer loss will reverberate in all our structures and will leave a big void as we confront challenges in the movement. Her passing is, indeed, a huge loss that will not go unnoticed to the ANC and people, who came to know her personally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ANC bows its head and dips its banner in honour of this selfless life that triumphed under difficult times,\u201d Mashatile said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe share with the family a deep pain that has befallen all of us. Let us in various ways find means to celebrate a life that continued to serve our nation to the end,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cape Times<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cape Town – The ANC has declared a period of mourning following the death of its deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, who died in the early hours of Sunday after a battle with cancer. This as President Cyril Ramaphosa designated Duarte\u2019s funeral as a Special Official Funeral Category 2. Ramaphosa was expected to deliver the eulogy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2475,1451,7077,11997,11996,692,12624,1078],"class_list":["post-118145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-anc","tag-declares","tag-deputy","tag-duarte","tag-jessie","tag-mourning","tag-secretarygeneral","tag-week"],"yoast_head":"\n