Pretoria - Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has passed away after a short illness.
The minister, who was 71, was admitted to a Pretoria hospital three weeks ago after falling ill.
Speaking to BuaNews, departmental spokesperson Joe Makhofela said her sudden death had come as a shock to staff at the department. "This has left them in dark cloud," he said.
More details around her death would be made known later in the day, he said. No funeral arrangements have been made thus far.
Ms Matsepe-Casaburri held the position of minister from 17 June 1999 and was the founder member of the Board of the Women's Development Foundation as well as Chairperson of Ministerial Oversight Committee of African Telecommunications Ministers.
She lived in exile for 25 years until she returned to South Africa in 1990. She has been active in policy development in the fields of gender, education, economic development and local government.
