President Cyril Ramaphosa has led tributes to former ANC MP Tina Joemat-Pettersson, expressing sadness at her death.
National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo said they were shocked by her death.
The ANC said the death of Joemat-Pettersson, 59, had robbed the party of a dedicated leader who had been in the trenches for many years.
Joemat-Pettersson was a member of the ANC’s National Executive Committee and National Working Committee.
Ramaphosa said Joemat-Pettersson had served in both the provincial government and Parliament.
She joined the Cabinet in 2009 and left in 2017.
Ramaphosa said Joemat-Pettersson had started serving in the Northern Cape in 1994 as MEC of Education. This was before she became Agriculture MEC.
“We have lost a remarkable leader who dedicated herself to improving the quality of life in her home province of the Northern Cape in the early years of our democracy before assuming national responsibilities in key portfolios. We will miss the passion and vigour with which Tina Joemat-Pettersson fought for a better South Africa from the rural villages of the Northern Cape to the benches of Parliament and international platforms,” said Ramaphosa.
Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo said Joemat-Pettersson’s death was a loss to Parliament.
They described her as a seasoned legislator who had served in many roles.
“Ms Joemat-Pettersson’s passing has left us reeling with shock. She will be remembered as an astute politician who used her skills, talents, and knowledge to advance legislative work to change the lives of ordinary South Africans. She exuded great energy, passion, and goodwill, and was not afraid to speak her mind. May her soul rest in peace,” they said.
The ANC said Joemat-Pettersson was a loyal member of the party who served in a variety of roles for many years.
She started her activism when she was a member of the Azanian Students Organisation (Azaso) in the 1980s and worked as a teacher from the late 1980s until the early 1990s.
She had teaching qualifications from UCT and UWC.
Joemat-Pettersson joined the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in the early 1990s.
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