MANTSOPA MUNICIPAL MANAGER PASSES AWAY

By Staff Reporter

LADYBRAND – Messages of condolences have started pouring in for  the late municipal manager of Mantsopa local municipality in the eastern Free State  Thamae  Paulus Masejane  who died  while receiving treatment for Covid -19 at Bethlehem Meci-clinic on.

His passing away was announced by Mantsopa Mayor, Mamsie Tsoene, via a statement released on Sunday 2 May, that at the time of his death, Masejane was receiving treatment for the coronavirus at the Bethlehem Medi-Clinic.

Mayor Tsoene says funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.

Mantsopa includes the towns of Ladybrand, Tweespruit, Excelsior and Hobhouse. The deceased was admitted to Medi Clinic in Bethlehem on 12 April.

It is not known when Masejane tested positive for the virus, however, in mid-April the municipality announced via its social media platforms that he had been placed on sick leave, and said leave was extended to 31 May by the Mantsopa Council. The Director of Community Services, Tseli Lesoetsa, was acting as the Municipal Manager at the time of Masejane’s death. The deceased reportedly joined Mantsopa in August 2017 on a five-year fixed term contract.

The Free State Provincial Government has shared Mantsopa’s statement on its social media platforms.

Reacting his passing , Bongani Tshabalala wrote on Facebook that “Bra T”, as he used to refer to Masejane, was a gentleman with a serious face who cared about people.

The Free State has the third highest active Covid-19 cases in the country, at 3 514. The province is just behind KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape in that regard.