Former KwaZulu-Natal premier Dr Frank Mdlalose will be buried during a state-funded funeral.
Current premier, Sihle Zikalala, reportedly announced this when he visited Mdlalose's family on Monday, according to IOL. He said the president had approved the request for a state funeral.
Mdlalose, the first democratically elected premier of the province, died on Saturday. He would have turned 90 this year.
Zikalala said Mdlalose died after contracting Covid-19 and described his death as an "immense loss", adding that the government mourned the passing of a "giant leader".
Born in Nquthu in northern KwaZulu-Natal on 29 November 1931, Mdlalose studied at the University of Fort Hare where he obtained a BSc degree in 1952 and a university education diploma in 1953.
In his early years, Mdlalose was a member of the ANC Youth League, before he became one of the founding members of the IFP in 1975, together with IFP president, Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
In 1996, then president Nelson Mandela appointed him as South Africa's ambassador to Egypt.
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