By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit: Northern Cape Provincial Government.
The African National Congress (ANC) mourns the passing of Member of Parliament Mxolisi Sokatsha.
Sokatsha, 57 passed away on Friday night in a car accident en-route to the Northern Cape where he hails from.
He was an ANC representative in the National Assembly, and had been a member of the Portfolio Committee of Health since joining Parliament in 2019.
“In his passing, the ANC Parliamentary Caucus has lost a revolutionary giant, a man who became the first Mayor of Richmond in the post-apartheid South Africa between 1994 and 1996, “the ANC said.
Parliament also said it was shocked by the passing of Sokatsha.
The presiding officers said the passing of Sokatsha, particularly under such tragic circumstances, was devastating and painful.
“Parliament and the people of this country have been robbed of a devoted public representative with an untiring commitment to the service of the people. His contributions to the various parliamentary sittings and committee meetings advanced and strengthened the oversight mandate of Parliament.”
“His experience, particularly in health, greatly bolstered parliamentary oversight and the institution’s role during the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic,” the presiding officers said.
Sokatsha, a trained educator and accountant, served in the Northern Cape legislature from 2003 to 2019 in various capacities including MEC for Health, Social Development, Sports, Arts and Culture as well as Roads and Public Works before becoming a member of the National Assembly in the sixth Parliament where he assumed office on 22 May 2019.
During the 1980s Sokatsha was involved in the establishment of the Midlands and Karoo Youth Congress, affiliates of SAYCO and served as the Chairperson of Sasco, also becoming a Sadtu chairperson when he joined the teaching fraternity.
Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape expressed shocked by the tragic passing of Sokatsha.
In a statement the DA send its heartfelt sympathies to his family and to the African National Congress (ANC), to whom he has dedicated many years of service.
“We worked with Sokatsha in his various roles that he occupied in provincial government and we will remember him for his warm and friendly nature.”
May he rest in peace and may his family and comrades find comfort in this time of grieving, concluded the statement.