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Nene remembered for his dedication

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Late diplomat Ambassador George Nene has been hailed for his sterling commitment serving the country. This came out during his memorial service at the Department of International Relations offices in Pretoria.

Nene passed away last week.

He has worked at the department as a diplomat since 1994 and only retired two years ago. He was chairperson of the South African Association of Former Ambassadors and the first High Commissioner to Nigeria.

Among those who attended Nene’s memorial service is former army chief, Sphiwe Nyanda, who worked with him during the liberation struggle.

“It was in 1973/4/5 and we used to work together in the underground. I trained in Virginia and he trained in the Soviet Union and when we came back we also worked together in Swaziland in the underground; shared the same tranches; took the same risks; found the same joy; recruited many of the people who are now part of the ANC who were in Swaziland, who were in diaspora,” said Nyanda.

For his colleagues, Nene has been a man of good stature who’s love for youth development knew no boundaries.

As a young man, in his early 20’s, Sipho Seakamela worked closely with Nene.

“He was always calm, soft spoken, despite his seniority and stature in the department and beyond. However, he was tough when it came to the quality of work. He was a skilled diplomat and had high standards that he would not compromise. Having worked on multilateral issues for 14 years in the service I can argue that ambassador Nene was one of the few exceptional mutilateralists of our time in south Africa.”

Former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad has patted Nene in the back for his outstanding knowledge of South Africa’s foreign policy and the role he played in quelling what would have been a diplomatic fiasco between Pretoria and Nigeria.

“After the execution of Nigeria activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and Sips in November 1995 and addressing Mandela’s unsuccessful attempts at the Commonwealth to have Nigeria boycotted and isolated then, relations between South Africa and Nigeria became extremely tense and strange.

“The ANC and the government quickly understood that this was unsustainable. If you wanted the African renaissance, you could not have Nigeria and South Africa fighting each other. So, the government took a decision to normalize relations with the Abacha military government. Ambassador Nene had to use all his diplomatic and political skills to interact with the representatives of the military government. I accompanied then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki to meet with Abacha and I was highly impressed with ambassador Nene’s knowledge of developments in Nigeria and the extensive context he had developed. After that, his reports on Nigeria were insightful and knowledgeable and helped the Presidency and Foreign Affairs to prepare better,” said Pahad.

Meanwhile, Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Lindiwe Sisulu has committed to keeping Nene’s legacy alive. This is by, amongst others, ensuring that the South African Association of Ambassadors, which Nene chaired, continues to exist.

“On behalf of George Nene, in recognition of the work he has done, I would like to say to the former ambassadors this is your home. We will revive the former ambassadors association and we will provide you with the resources. As I sat and listened to George’s friends, I thought to myself, it would be so tragic to lose the depository of all the information that brought us here and that is supposed to take us forward in our relations with the world.”

Nene will be laid to rest at Avalon cemetery in Soweto.

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