Service delivery in the Thulamela municipality, and especially Ward 6, has been dealt a terrible blow, following the sudden death of the ward councillor. Cllr Annah Maluleke (42) died in the Malamulele Hospital last Tuesday, after being admitted the previous Thursday. The death of this esteemed resident has left the whole municipality and the community in deep mourning. Information from the family is that the deceased’s health had deteriorated over the last two months. Her eldest sister, Mphephu Makhubele, said the death came as a shock to the family as they still awaited more from her. “My sister has been ill for some time and has been in and out of hospital the last two months. We had thought that she would recover. We have lost a great sister who was always there when we needed her. She was our pillar of strength as a family and she will always be missed,” she said. Her death did not only come as a shock to the family, but the whole community has lost a great leader who has been credited with most of the development in her ward. The local traditional leader, Gezani Makhubele, said her contributions in developing the villages as an ANC councillor would not be forgotten. “She has contributed a lot and much of what you see here is her dedication to bettering the lives of the majority of the poor; she has contributed immensely in the whole ward,” he said. The mayor of Thulamela, Khosi Vho Thivhulawi Makumbane, said Maluleke’s death came as a shock to the municipality. “We had learnt of her ill health and hoped that she would pull through. It is with shock and sadness that we learnt of her passing away. Her death is not only a loss to the family and our municipality, but service delivery has also been compromised in our municipality. Through her, we have had a good working relationship with the community,” he said. Maluleke was born on January 1968 at Kutama outside Louis Trichardt, but her family relocated to Ntlhaveni in 1971. She passed her Grade 12 exams at Ntlhaveni High in 1993. She was involved in ANC work until 1999, when she became a ward councillor. “She never did any other work in her life except organise the community,” said her sister and added that politics was in the dead woman’s veins. She is survived by her mother, Mamayila Maluleke, and two children - daughter Hope, 21 and her son Matimba, 8.