…was appointed in May

South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Bavelile Hlongwa has died in a car accident, the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed on Saturday.

Deputy mineral resources and energy minister Bavelile Hlongwa died in a car crash on Friday.
PHOTO: gov.co.za

Hlongwa, 38, who was appointed in May, died on Friday in an accident that also claimed the lives of four other people, the presidency said, according to Reuters report.

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Reuters reported that Ramaphosa said in a statement that Hlongwa’s death “is a devastating, untimely loss of a talented young leader who, alongside (Mines) Minister Gwede Mantashe, was playing an important and dynamic role in an important sector of our economy.”

South Africa’s mining industry directly contributes more than 7 per cent of the economy which has been struggling with anaemic growth over the last decade.

Vanguard.