DMRE honours late Deputy Minister Hlongwa

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The life and times of Mineral Resources and Energy Deputy Minister Bavelile Hlongwa was commemorated at a memorial service held on Tuesday.

“As a solider, Bavelile died with her boots on. If she disagreed with you, she would not say ‘I think I disagree’. She would say, ‘Minister, the engineer in me disagrees with this approach’,” Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said to chuckles from the audience.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) held a memorial service in honour of Hlongwa at the Hearfelt Arena in Pretoria.

The ceremony got underway with the singing of the National Anthem, after which departmental officials proceeded to pay tribute to the late Hlongwa.

Hlongwa passed away in a car crash on Friday.

The car accident, which took place on the N1 from Polokwane, claimed four other lives.

“In the three months that we have worked with the Deputy Minister, we can write a book,” said Director General Thabane Zulu.

Zulu described Hlongwa as multi-talented and as someone who used all her talents to serve the people of South Africa.

Hlongwa was appointed as Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy in May 2019 following General Elections held in the same month.

Prior to her appointment, she served as Executive Deputy Chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency.

She studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Howard College, where she obtained her Bachelors of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering. She started her career at Shell Downstream SA.

President Cyril Ramaphosa at the weekend announced that Hlongwa will be honoured with an Official Funeral Category 2. in line with government’s State, Official and Provincial Funeral Policy.

The President further directed that the national flag fly at half-mast at every flag station in the country until the Deputy Minister is laid to rest. – SAnews.gov.za