Johannesburg – The SA Communist Party (SACP) has joined several organisations in paying tribute to former energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson following her sudden death on Monday.
SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo said his party conveys its message of heartfelt condolences on the loss encountered by the family of Joemat-Pettersson, a former minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as energy.
When she died on Monday, Joemat-Pettersson, 59, was the chair of the National Assembly Portfolio Committee on Police, and a member of the ANC National Executive Committee.
The SACP also conveyed its message of sincere condolences to Parliament, the ANC, and the people of South Africa at large.
“Comrade Tina Joemat-Pettersson was also a member of the SACP and played a crucial role in building the structures of the party in Northern Cape after unbanning in the early 1990s.
“That was one of the toughest periods in our Struggle for liberation, democracy and social emancipation. It was a period during which, through a final push, our national liberation movement with the Alliance at the forefront and buttressed by overwhelming support from our people, achieved the April 1994 democratic breakthrough.
“We will remember Tina Joemat-Pettersson above all else through her contribution in building the revolutionary movement that led the Struggle to defeat the apartheid regime and achieve our April 1994 democratic breakthrough,” Dr Mashilo said.
He said in memory of her contribution to the just Struggle, the Alliance needs to reconfigure itself to move with the times and become stronger at every new moment to resolve the systemic problems of high unemployment, poverty, inequality, crime, gender-based violence, and the electricity under-capacity crisis, all as a matter of urgency.
Upon her death, the ANC on Monday, also expressed its devastation by her untimely passing.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the death of Joemat-Pettersson, a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) of the ANC, “has robbed our movement and the people of South Africa of a humble, dependable and dedicated servant”.
“The ANC pays tribute to this extraordinary freedom fighter whose sacrifices and commitment to the liberation of her people remain a source of inspiration to many young cadres of our movement.
“All those who love justice, freedom and democracy will sorely miss her intellectual sharpness, political maturity and passion for defending those who are vulnerable in our society, especially women.”
Source : IOL
