AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
DR BEN Ngubane, a prominent South African who was a former cabinet minister, provincial premier, diplomat and ex-chair of Eskom and SABC boards has died from COVID-19 related complications.
Ngubane, 79, passed away this morning at a hospital in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal.
While his last prominent positions were those as chair of the boards of Eskom and the SABC, Ngubane was also premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the minister of arts and culture as well as South Africa’s ambassador to Japan.
Ngubane died at the Melomed Richards Bay Hospital. The institution’s manager Randal Pedro said: “It is with regret that we confirm that this retired politician and former KZN Premier, SABC and Eskom chairperson has demised earlier this morning around 01h40. Our family mourns this great loss as Dr Ngubane played a pivotal role in the transformation of the private healthcare landscape in Northern KZN in an advisory capacity and I will personally miss his guidance and teaching. Melomed Richards Bay was privileged to have had his years of loyal patronage and support not just as a patient but as an advisory for access to healthcare and in doing so upheld his oath as a medical doctor. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Sheila, his children and grandchildren during their time of bereavement as we mourn this great loss together with them.”
Dr Naledi Pandor, SA’s Minister of International Relations and Co-operation has paid tribute to Ngubane.
“When I became Minister of Science and Technology in 2009, I had the pleasure of benefitting from the solid foundation that Dr Ngubane and my other predecessors had put in place. It made it easy for us to focus on speeding up the implementation of the projects they had started. South Africa owes a debt of gratitude to Dr Ngubane for pioneering our science and technology,” Pandor said.
