The ANC will hold a memorial service for former finance minister Tito Mboweni following his funeral on Saturday, according to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
Mbalula feels that Mboweni deserves a state funeral for his important contributions to South African politics, even though it is still unclear if he will get one.
The Presidency announced late Saturday that Mboweni, 65, had passed away after a brief illness.
Killarney and Sasekane village will hold daily prayers until Wednesday at 6pm. The funeral will be held on Saturday in Tzaneen, Limpopo.
“We as the ANC would like to have a memorial service,” Mbalula said.
“We have booked the idea before the family, and they will look at it, but I think we prefer to do it next week so that we get the right speakers and proper people who knew Tito Mboweni to come and speak and celebrate his life.
“When we open the platform for Tito’s celebration of his life, there are so many people who have a lot to say about him, from cooking to many other things.
“So we will want it to be a very good memorial service.”
Budgetary restraint
He said as he led the delegation to pay condolences to the family of Mboweni, it marked the first meeting of the ANC to address matters related to Mboweni’s funeral.
Mbalula indicated that the memorial would likely take place in Gauteng, pending guidance from the family.
He recalled Mboweni’s dedication to budgetary restraint, pointing out that while he was finance minister, he insisted that all ministers downgrade their pricey cars.
According to Mbalula, the former minister will be remembered as a straightforward person who cared about the nation’s economy, noting that even his house was not in an estate as one might expect from a former minister.
Mboweni was the chairperson of the African Centre for Economic Transformation at the time of his death. The centre is a global agency driving sustainable economic efforts.
It accomplishes this, among other things, by boosting human wellbeing in both the public and private sectors, increasing productivity, and improving technology.
In addition, he served as a director of several businesses.
