Percy Mthimkhulu (49), chief of staff in the ministry of finance since 2021, has died in his sleep, the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s office confirmed on Tuesday.
“As a proud South African, he never hid from his responsibility nor turned his back on the needs of our people,” Godongwana said in a statement. “Mr Mthimkhulu has been a key part of the brains trust in the ministry of finance and National Treasury during very difficult economic times.”
Mthimkhulu was part of the teams that compiled the Covid-19 Economic Reconstruction Document, the South African Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan (which was drafted in reaction to the pandemic and the July 2021 unrest) and the South African Tourism Recovery Plan.
He was also a member of the technical team that supports the ANC’s National Executive Committee subcommittee on economic transformation.
A student leader in the South African Students Congress (SASCO) in the 1990s, he later graduated with an honours degree in commerce, and, last year, received an MPhil degree in development finance from the University of Stellenbosch Business School.
He started his career as a journalist at the Financial Mail and Business Day in 1998, before joining the public sector service as a speech writer in the office of the premier in the North West government in the early 2000s.
Mthimkhulu later went on to serve as spokesperson for the then-premier of Gauteng Paul Mashatile and a media liaison in the department of arts and culture. In August 2021, he joined the ministry of finance as chief of staff.
“Politics and the desire to see the country’s economy transformed for the benefit of all South Africans never left his blood,” Godongwana said.
According to a family statement, Mthimkhulu leaves behind a young daughter, Tatyana, and his sister Jabu.
Source: News 24
