By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Free State Premier Mxolisi Dukwana says the late Education MEC Tate Makgoe was a great leader who excelled in every task he was assigned.
Dukwana said this during a media briefing on Sunday morning at Makgoe’s residence in Wekkie Saayman street, Universitas, in Bloemfontein.
Makgoe lost his life together with his protector, Warrant Officer Vuyo Mdi, after a car which they were travelling with collided with three cows on the N1 outside Windburg in the Free State.
Driver, Warrant officer Pule Nkopane, remains in a critical condition in Bloemfontein hospital.
An emotional Dukwana said Makgoe devoted his life to the disadvantaged and marginalized in order to fully realize the objectives of true political transformation and the total eradication of poverty.
“We would like to send our condolences to the family and to the wife, Aus Ivy and the children of our late comrade. We would like also to extend our condolences to the people of the Free State as well as the people of the country and the education fraternity, the learners whom he dedicated his whole life in serving and making sure that he turned Free State into a winning province when it came to education,” he said.
Dukwana further said that Makgoe leaves behind a department that remains on the upper echelons of the education sector in the country.
He further stated that the provincial government will communicate details of Makgoe’s funeral after communicating with the family.
Meanwhile the Foundation for Education and Social Justice Africa is deeply saddened by the untimely death of Makgoe.
“We join hundreds of thousands of South Africans who mourn the departure of a man who dedicated his life to help learners to create a future for themselves. The education fraternity is left with a gap that will be difficult to close for many years to come.
“We will recall that under MEC Makgoe, Free State learners achieved the best results and they were always at the top when compared with their peers in other provinces. Even in the face of loadshedding and Covid-19, the Free State province continued to rise to the highest levels of academic excellence and achievement. All these can be attributed to the right leadership that was provided by MEC Makgoe.
During this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of MEC and we pray that they will find comfort and healing.