South Africans join the world in paying warm tributes to Ms Sindiswa Carol Nhlumayo, executive head of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) Centre for Maritime Excellence.
Pretoria: 21 February, 2016
Ms Sindiswa Carol Nhlumayo was laid to rest during a funeral service held at her rural village home at Emvutshini, Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday.
Ms Nhlumayo, 45, an Executive Head of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) Centre for Maritime Excellence since formation in 2011, died on Thursday, February 11, 2016; after a courageous battle with cancer.
Since her passing away a week ago, tributes have poured in from South Africa and abroad, with several institutions, friend and acquaintances, family and colleagues expressing anguish at her death, virtually all describing her passing on as a sad loss for the country, particularly in the tourism, human resources development and maritime economic sectors.
Incidentaly, Ms Nhlumayo, a PhD student candidate with the Sweden-based World Maritime University; passed away on the same day as her aunt, Nonsikelelo Nhlumayo; who also tragically suffered from cancer – for what proved a double tragedy for their family on the rolling hills of Emvutshini overlooking vast fields of sugarcane and banana forests a few kilometres south of Port Shepstone.
At their joint funeral on Saturday, among several dignitaries and high ranking officials attending were national Transport Department deputy Mininster, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga, the National Heritage Council chief executive officer, Sonwabile Mangcotywa, Tourism Business Council chief executive officer Ms Matsatsi Ramawela, representatives of national government departments inclusive of the Department of Tourism, the Department of Higher Education, and the Department of Environmental Affairs, the local mayor as well as representatives of the local traditional leadership.
They joined the institutional leadership of SAMSA led by chief executive officer by Commander Tsietsi Mokhele and chief operating officer, Sobantu Tilayi as well as hundreds of mourners from across the country.
Ms Nhlumayo’s funeral service on Saturday was preceded by a memorial service held in Pretoria on Thursday and during which many people, from across the world, including the World Maritime University, paid tribute to her memory.
For both these services, audio-visuals have been captured and are being shared along with photographs on the special page on this blog dedicated to Ms Nhlumayo’s memory, beginning with the shortened version below, providing highlights of the funeral in Port Shepstone on Saturday.
To view click here
only when I was going through my notes for tourism, I saw her name and went on google to check where she is now and what she has been up to lately…. then to learn she is no more
What a woman, though was younger, she inspired my tourism career in a very unique way..Sindy saw possibilities, she believed in good, her words that will always ring in my ears is when she said “never fear to start something, just go out there and do something , even if it fails, as it fails you would have learnt to be better, failure is never a reason to stop trying rather opportunity to learn and become better. dare to ask questions, theres lot of information out there…..”
an inspiration she was .. may her family be strengthened to know she inspired so many people who crossed her path…
Rest in Peace M- Afrikakazi, Qhawekazi
Woow am saddened. You know sometimes you lose contacts, you think of of people you don’t make any follow up. We met with Sindi when I was still a trainer at IDASA, and we studied tourism with Buckinghamshire Chilterns University together we graduated. That was it. We met again when she was moving to Capetown, I organised a contact (my cousin) for her since it was her first time in Capetown. Tourism was in her blood. She talked, dreamt tourism. She was passionate about economic and human resource development. We have lost and South Africa has lost. She was a dynamite to take this country far. A versatile, dynamic & intelligent soul, giving and loving. May her soul rest in Peace. 2018
Your kind comments are appreciated Yolisa. Indeed, Sindi was a hard working and passionate person in the functions to she was assigned or preferred engagement. Her death is truly sad.