Dr Lungile Pepeta has been hailed as a selfless paediatric cardiologist with great passion during a virtual memorial service by the Council of Medical Schemes.
Professor Pepeta died on 7 August as a result of COVID-19 related complications.
Dr Aquina Thulare spoke on behalf of the national Department of Health, saying Pepeta was an inspiration to the youth, as he rose above circumstances in the rural area of Bizana in the Eastern Cape.
“When Dr Pepeta passed on he had managed to lead the health sector in the most incredible way. Born in the rural EC in Bizana he was able to overcome the issues that Apartheid posed to people who were from rural communities, and he managed to reach the highest peaks in the profession that he had chosen: medicine. And we know that where he came from , the Transkei, it is one of the most deprived areas in our country,” says Thulare.
Professor Pepeta was praised for his contribution to the health sector in many ways, especially his compassion and concern for the children of the Eastern Cape.
He will also be remembered for setting up a medical school at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth.
At the time of his death, he was serving as the Executive Dean in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the university.
Chief Executive and Registrar at the Council for Medical Schemes, Dr Sipho Kabane, saluted him as an academic and said his passing was a great loss of human capital.
“We salute the passing of an academic giant, an intellectual, larger than life soul, a passionate individual, and an embodiment of effective and ethical leadership which is sorely missing in our society. It is our considered view that through this COVID, the loss of human capital, particularly of a generation that was supposed to mentor, teach and do succession planning, the price is going to be to hard to pay, and I think it is going to be hard to replace,” says Kabane.
Professor Pepeta was recently appointed by Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize as the Chairperson of the Council for Medical Schemes – the regulator of the medical schemes industry. He will be laid to rest on Wednesday.
His predecessor, Dr Clarence Mini, also succumbed to COVID-19 in May.
In the video below, condolences continue to pour in for Professor Lungile Pepeta:
