President Jacob Zuma has declared a special Provincial Official Funeral for the late Dr Lionel Mtshali, the former Premier of KwaZulu-Natal and former leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party who died on Sunday after a short illness.
The President has directed that the national flag should be flown at half-mast at all stations in the KwaZulu-Natal Province on the day of his funeral, Saturday 19 December 2015.
"On behalf of government, we wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to the family and the Inkatha Freedom Party”, said the President.
There are three main types of funerals in South Africa's Funeral Policy. These are the State Funeral, Official Funeral and Provincial Official Funeral.
The State Funeral is divided into two categories:
- State Funeral Category 1 is reserved for the President of the Republic of South Africa, the President-elect of the Republic of South Africa and Former Presidents of the Republic of South Africa.
- State Funeral Category 2 is for the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Acting President of the Republic of South Africa and Former/Deputy Presidents of the Republic of South Africa.
The Official Funeral is also divided into two categories: Official Funeral Category 1 is for Serving Ministers, Speaker of the National Assembly, Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Premiers of Provinces, distinguished persons specifically designated by the President of the Republic of South Africa.
- Official Funeral Category 2 is for the Spouse of a serving President, the Spouse of a serving Deputy President, Deputy Ministers, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Permanent Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa and The President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The Provincial Official Funeral is divided into a Provincial Official Funeral Category 1 which is for the Speaker of the Legislature and Members of the Executive Committee. The Provincial Funeral Category 2 is accorded to the Deputy Speaker of the Legislature.
Distinguished persons can be granted a special Provincial Official Funeral Category. The Premier of a province sends a request to the President for consideration if they feel a resident of the province deserves such recognition.
More details on the funeral will be released by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government.
Enquiries:
Bongani Majola
Cell: 082 339 1993
E-mail: bonganim@presidency.gov.za
