Staff Reporter
Premier Sisi Ntombela has described the late SABC journalist Thabo Katsande as a disciplined, dedicated and hardworking man.
She said this in her special tribute to Katsande, who was based in Bloemfontein, during a memorial service held at the Rose Hall at the Mangaung Metropolitan offices on Thursday.
The journalist passed away at a Pretoria hospital last Saturday following a short illness.
“The Thabo I knew was focused on his work,” said an emotional Ntombela.
“The Thabo I knew was passionate about his trade and wanted to see journalism, particularly in the Free State, grow in leaps and bounds,” she added.
The premier took the opportunity to urge people to value their work and strive to improve their communities as the province is faced with a high unemployment rate.
“We live in an era where some people do not value their jobs . . . and a sense of entitlement has consumed them. Thabo’s work ethic was admirable,” she pointed out.
Ntombela described Katsande as a fearless and fair journalist who showed both the good and the bad through his work.
“Through his work, Thabo helped us to tell . . . the Free State story,” she said.
“He captured the minds of the people with the way he told our stories, the good and the bad.
“The beautiful and the not so beautiful – Thabo told it all, without fear or favour.
“The media fraternity has lost a giant and . . . it will be poorer without him.
“No longer shall we see that charismatic man running around with a camera looking for that perfect shot.”
Katsande will be laid to rest in Bluemgumbosch, eastern Free State, this Saturday.