South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy Passes

• South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Hon Bavelile Hlongwa has died in a car crash on the N1 from Polokwane yesterday.
• The 38 year old Hlongwa was appointed Deputy Minister by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a minerals and energy ministry merger in May this year.

President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his condolences to family, friends and colleagues of Hlongwa in a statement earlier today. “The death of deputy minister Hlongwa is a devastating, untimely loss of a talented young leader, who, alongside minister Gwede Mantashe, was playing an important and dynamic role in an important sector of our economy,” said Ramaphosa.

South Africa’s Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has revealed that Bavelile was assisting a motorist who had overturned when a truck ploughed into the scene,

Hlongwa had “stopped to assist a motorist whose vehicle had overturned on the N1 at Maubane … the deputy minister, her security detail, emergency medical services personnel and Bakwena security group personnel were in the process of assisting the motorist when a flatbed truck crashed into the scene,” said Mbalula in a statement.

Green Building Africa sends our sincere condolences to Bavelile’s family and friends. Bevelile represented hope in the form of a young, vibrant new age thinker and leader in South Africa’s energy sector.

May she rest in peace.

Author: GBA News Desk