30 August 2006
Matthew Moonieya, recently appointed as an SACN board member representing
Buffalo City Municipality, died on Friday 25 August 2006 while on an official
visit to Sweden.
Sithole Mbanga, CEO of the SACN, says “we will miss Matthew’s
dedication as a board member and his warm and consistent support as a friend
of the Cities Network.”
The funeral service of Matthew Moonieya, Buffalo City director in the mayor’s
office, will be organised privately at the request of his family, the Daily
Dispatch reported.
Matthew died of a heart attack at a railway station during an official visit
to Sweden last Friday.
Mayor Zintle Peter paid tribute to the late municipal spokesperson on behalf
of the municipality. She said Moonieya was a tireless worker and advocate
for the betterment of the city and its people.
He “threw himself wholeheartedly into the business of assisting the
mayoral office in transforming and stabilising the municipality’s administration
and building the image of the new municipality,” the mayor was reported
as saying.
Peter added that it was not easy, as the municipality’s political leadership
had faced challenges internally and externally. “Matthew spent many
long and irregular hours trying to ensure that a fairer and accurate picture
of the city was reflected to the public.”
She said Moonieya had been well-equipped to fulfill the critical backroom
role of providing support to council leadership in communications and public
relations.
Peter described Moonieya’s loyalty, humility and personal ethos as
being derived from his Christian faith. “He was no work-to-rule bureaucrat
and, in fact, had a healthy disdain for the red-tape that often seems to slow
down municipal decision-making and service delivery.” Peter also said
the municipality owed a gratitude to his immediate family for supporting him
in advancing and defending the municipal interests.
“Our sympathies are extended to his wife, Gaye, and their son, as well
as Matthew’s family from a previous marriage, whose pain and loss we
share. We will miss him.”
Read the full story, posted by dispatch.co.za.
Source: Daily Dispatch