Cape Town – The ANC in the Western Cape says it will embark on a week-long mourning period following the death of the party's delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and former provincial deputy secretary Maurencia Gillion.
The party’s provincial spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said the provincial branch of the ANC was shocked and devastated by the passing of Gillion, who upon her death was a member of the Interim Provincial Committee.
Gillion served in the NCOP as the party’s Western Cape representative and was chairperson of the select committee on health and social services.
Mtsweni said Gillion passed on while on duty serving the people of South Africa in the NCOP.
He said she had performed her duties optimally and diligently, with precision and excellence.
“She has always been known for her forthrightness and wit. She raised issues pertaining to the transformation of our society into a better life for all with pernicious vigour,” Mtsweni said.
“She stood for the poor and downtrodden. She was well known for her activism for farm dwellers and farm workers. She was passionate about rural development and she was a staunch believer in women’s rights as a stoic gender activist.”
Mtsweni also said the entire membership and collective leadership of the ANC in the Western Cape mourned Gillion, whom he described as a gallant heroine of the people.
“We extend our deepest condolences to her family which she truly loved, her colleagues in Parliament and the broader community of the Western Cape, which she served till her last breath,” he said.
“The ANC in the province will be embarking on a week-long mourning period, which will commence with the visit to her family.
“We will hold various commemorative events in honour of her revolutionary life and in her memory and forge ahead with a matter she felt passionate about, that of renewing the ANC in the province so that it becomes an effective tool in the hands of the people of the Western Cape.”
Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Nosivie Mapisa-Nqakula and NCOP chairperson Amos Masondo said last night that they were saddened by the death of Gillion.
Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo said they, like the rest of the MPs who were present at the scene, were distressed and shocked by her sudden passing.
"All of us are in a state of great grief, inexplicable shock and anguish. Nothing could have prepared any of us here for this,” they said.
“To lose a Member of Parliament is very sad, but to lose her in this manner is just harrowing. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of Honourable Gillion and pray for their strength to surmount this unbearable pain," they added.
Cape Times