Condolences pour in for Deputy Health Minister Sefularo April 05 2010 , 4:56:00 [image: Deputy Health Minister, Molefi Sefularo]
Messages of condolences are pouring in following the death of Deputy Health Minister, Molefi Sefularo, who died in a car crash in Pretoria today. President Jacob Zuma has described Sefularo's death as a huge loss to the country. Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says Sefularo provided sound leadership in the Department of Health. "President Jacob Zuma has learnt with great shock and sadness of the death of Dr Sefularo, the Deputy Minister of Health. The death of Sefularo is a monumental loss for the nation and the progressive movement as a whole. He was a dedicated, committed, energetic and highly capable servant of the people," says Magwenya. The 2010 Local Organising Committee has also reacted with shock and sadness to Sefularo's death. He headed the medical preparations for the FIFA World Cup. The committee's Chief Medical Officer Victor Ramathesele who knew Sefularo from their days as medical students, has described his death as a huge loss. "I really feel devastated - we had built a very good working relationship over the time we had been involved in the 2010 FIFA World Cup activities. We have just completed a whole punishing schedule of actually going to check the medical facilities ourselves and engaging health professionals at a personal level," says Ramathesele. North West Premier Maureen Modiselle says she cannot believe Sefularo’s untimely death. Premier Modiselle says she worked closely with Sefularo for a long time. "I will actually come to terms with the situation when I see his corpse - that is how bad it is. I cannot just think straight about the death of my friend, my colleague and comrade. He had such an intellectual sense of humour," says Modiselle. *Political parties * The ANC says Sefularo served the party with distinction. In it tribute, the South African Communist Party says attention needs to be paid to the condition of the country's roads.The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa said his death should serve as a call to the ANC and government to implement the National Health Insurance. While the National Education, Health and Allied Worker's Union described Sefularo as a quality leader who will be missed for his hands-on style of leadership in the sector. The Congress of the South African Trade Unions said the best tribute for Sefularo would be for the country to roll out accessible quality heath care for all. The Democratic Alliance said it was shocked by Sefularo's death. *Sefularo’s Obituary * Dr Sefularo was a distinguished leader in the community, academia and politics. His involvement in politics date back to the 1970's in Potchefstroom where he helped found Azaso, a fore-runner of the South African Students Congress. Before immersing himself to the work of the United Democratic Front in the 1980s. He qualified as a medical doctor at the Medical University of South Africa, popularly known as Medunsa. A highly regarded medical practitioner, his work and studies took him to Wits and Harvard Universities in the USA among others. He is a former member of the North West provincial legislature and deputy chairperson of the ANC of North West. He served as a member of the Provincial Working Committee from 1996 to 2000, deputy secretary from 2000 to 2005, as well as deputy chairperson of the ANC in the North West Province from 2005 to 2009. As a health MEC in the province, he was hailed for supporting the roll out of antiretroviral's and for the implementation of the prevention of mother to child transmission in the province. He served as a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly since 2004 and in 2008 was appointed deputy minister of health by President Kgalema Motlanthe. -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.
