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Tributes continue to flood in following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement, expressing his deep sadness at the passing of Professor Sibusiso Bengu, a pioneering leader and South Africa’s first Minister of Education in the democratic era. Prof Bengu passed away at the age of 90.
According to the Presidency of the Republic of South Africa, President Ramaphosa offered his condolences to the family and friends of Prof Bengu, saying: “My thoughts are with Mama Funeka and the family with whom we are united in this loss,” he said.
President Ramaphosa also visited the Bengu family to pay his respects, demonstrating his appreciation for Prof Bengu’s contributions to South Africa’s education and development.
Bengu was a renowned educator and politician who played a crucial role in shaping South Africa’s education system. As Minister of Education from 1994 to 1999, he spearheaded the transformation of education in a democratic Government of National Unity, where deep divisions existed about how far this transformation should go.
Under apartheid, the injustice of unequal education had been at the core of consigning most citizens to intergenerational economic exclusion, poverty, and indignity. Prof Bengu’s leadership in formulating the Education Act, adopted by the fledgling Parliament, was a cornerstone of South Africa’s liberation and unleashed the human potential of all South Africans.
As President Ramaphosa noted: “The Education Act formulated under Prof Bengu’s leadership and adopted by our fledgling Parliament was a cornerstone of our liberation and unleashed the human potential of all South Africans. It was and is still the lever for the empowerment and development we see today in the lives of individuals and communities,” he said.
Bengu’s legacy extends beyond his tenure as Minister of Education. He served as South Africa’s Ambassador to Germany from 1999 to 2003 and inspired the Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme, which aims to advance the development of historically disadvantaged institutions in higher education.
President Ramaphosa praised Bengu’s patriotic and visionary service, saying: “We are therefore indebted to Prof Bengu for his patriotic and visionary service in serving our nation at home and abroad as our Ambassador to Germany. His legacy is entrenched through the Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme which seeks to advance the development of historically disadvantaged institutions in higher education as strong, socially embedded institutions in a diversified post-school education and training system.”
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Blade Nzimande, has also paid tribute to Prof Bengu, describing him as a pioneering educationist and model public servant. Minister Nzimande recalled his personal interactions with Prof Bengu, including his role in helping him secure a student loan to pay his outstanding university fees in 1977.
Minister Nzimande stated: “In Prof Bengu, our country has lost not only one of its most committed educationists, but also a model public servant and patriot, who even when his own health was waning, continued to serve his country and people with dignity and integrity.”
The Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme (SB-DP) was renamed in his honor in 2022, aimed at addressing inequalities in higher education and promoting decolonization, indigenous knowledge systems, and digitalization.
In summary, Prof Bengu’s remarkable life and career were marked as follows:
- Pioneering leadership as South Africa’s first Minister of Education in the democratic era
- Transformation of the education system, formulating the Education Act and unleashing human potential
- Diplomatic service as Ambassador to Germany
- Inspiration of the Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme, advancing higher education development
- Commitment to restoring dignity and empowering communities
As South Africa mourns the loss of this remarkable leader, we remember his life of faith, commitment to restoring dignity, and tireless efforts to empower and develop communities.
In conclusion, President Ramaphosa said: “Today we are grateful for Prof Bengu’s diverse contributions to our development, which will light our way forward. We reflect as well on his life of faith which inspired his commitment to restoring the dignity of all South Africans. May his soul rest in peace.”
