Pretoria - Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has paid tribute to African National Congress stalwart Zola Skweyiya, who died at the age of 75 on April 11, and provided some detail on his special official funeral and memorial service.
"It is profoundly sad that in a short space of time of losing mama Winnie [Madikizela-Mandela], the country has lost another outstanding revolutionary," Dlamini-Zuma said on Sunday.
"Dr Zola Skweyiya, a courageous fighter who fought for social justice in South Africa, played a pivotal role in strengthening the foundational process and crafting the cornerstone of our democracy, the Constitution," she said.
He served as public service and administration minister from 1994 to 1999 under former president Nelson Mandela, and then as social development minister from 1999 to 2009 during former president Thabo Mbeki’s administration. In 2009, Skweyiya was appointed South Africa's high commissioner to the UK and Ireland.
Dlamini-Zuma said President Cyril Ramaphosa had declared a special official funeral, category 1, for Skweyiya. The official memorial service would take place on April 18. The venue and time of the memorial service would be announced shortly. The funeral service would take place on April 21 at the CRC Church on the corner of Lynnwood Road and Solomon Mahlangu Drive in Pretoria.
Further logistical details on the memorial service and funeral arrangements would be communicated soon, she said.