Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of the former secretary of the Liberated Metal Workers Union of South Africa (Limusa) Cedric Gina. He was laid to rest in Richards Bay in the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal.
The funeral was attended by ANC and Cosatu leaders .Speakers at the funeral described him as a disciplined union leader. Gina died in hospital earlier this week after a short illness.
Gina served in different positions and held board membership in various entities. At home and to his extended family , he was a regarded as a unifier. Family Spokesperson Bongani Gina says Gina always put his the interest of the family first .
“He is the one who actually that started the initiative of uniting the family including people with the Gina family including people from Swaziland. That initiative was a success, so now that he is no more, we don’t know how things will be as we go forward, as he was the one that has been uniting us all the time”.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president, Zingiswa Losi, says she learnt a lot from Gina’s leadership.
“He has always resembles an epitome of a congress movement. He has been a cadre that when times were difficult, he would not hesitate to put up his hand and say I choose to lead and he never sat back and waited for others to take the struggle forward and say I am taking the responsibility”.
The IFP’s national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa was among the people who attended the funeral and says Gina would not rest when people continue to suffer in the country.
“He understood fundamentally that whatever perspective you view SA, your duty was to make sure that you improve the collective sustainable livelihoods of the people of SA. And that is a of course something very much alive in the IFP. Therefore, the life of Gina is an example in that respect, that he was very true in his convictions and what he believed in”.
ANC’s chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Sihle Zikalala, says leaders can learn a lot from Gina.
“I think one of the lessons from Gina’s leadership is his firm commitment in his principle and for his beliefs. We would say to be principled and stand for your views, is what comrade Gina will be remembered for.”
Gina was key in the formation of the Liberated Metal Union of South Africa , this was after Numsa resolved to part ways with Cosatu.
