By Amy Musgrave
Labour federations and President Cryil Ramaphosa are mourning the passing of former labour minister and high commissioner to Canada, Membathisi Shepard Mdladlana, who was 72.
A teacher by training and a former school principal, Mdladlana became a MP in South Africa’s first democratic Parliament in 1994. Four years later, he was appointed labour minister by Nelson Mandela and was retained in this role by former president Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
Mdladlana’s predecessor Tito Mbowen died last week and will be honoured in a special state funeral on Saturday.
“We have recently been visited by a succession of departures of veterans of our liberation struggle and pioneers of the dawn of our democracy,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.
“Membathisi Mdladlana was one such pioneer who was a first generation Member of Parliament who had been prepared for this role during an extended period of leadership in the
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