The residents in the Ugu district municipality of Southern KwaZulu-Natal would be certainly asking themselves pertinent questions in the wake of two deaths of high-ranking officials in their municipality.

 

 

 

 

Three days following the death of Dr. Elliot Ntombela after a short illness, the municipality has suffered another serious blow, with reports confirming that the executive mayor, Phumlile Mthiyane, has sadly passed away this morning. Her cause of her death had not been disclosed at the time this story was written.

Mthiyane was elected as the mayor after the 2021 local government elections, and had served as a deputy mayor previously.

She was a huge proponent of education, as demonstrated by her attainment of a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and communication from UNISA in 2019. It was a huge milestone for her, as she only received what was her first degree at the age of 43.

Mthiyane is someone who rose through the ranks in the ANC, starting off in the Youth League which she joined at a relatively young age. During her political career, she held a myriad of important positions in the South Coast region, such as being the Regional Executive Committee deputy secreatary.

At just 47, it’s sufficient to say, her region and the broader society have been robbed of a cadre unlike others, who prioritised providing services to the people, as well as encouraging the youth to carve different paths through education