The chairperson of South Africa’s Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) Dr. Clarence Mini died on Tuesday following complications as a result of COVID-19.
According to the General Manager for Stakeholder Relations at the CMS Grace Khoza, who spoke to local media outlet News24, Mini had a preexisting condition, asthma.
A statement released by the CMS confirmed that Mini had been hospitalized for more than a month.
“Today, we wake up to the sad news of the passing on of Dr Clarence Mazwangwandile Mini, the Chairperson of Council for Medical Schemes (CMS). This indeed is a sad day for the CMS and the medical schemes industry as a whole,” Khoza said in the statement.
“This wonderful, compassionate and likeable individual leaves a legacy of having served this country and industry in many capacities with great distinction.”
Mini had been in exile during the apartheid era and chose to dedicate his life to reforming the medical sector rather than go into the more profitable private practice, Khoza told News24.
South African opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA) mourned the death of Mini noting that he “demonstrated compassion, kindness and a deep understanding of South Africa’s health system and its challenges”.
Mini was appointed to head the autonomous statutory body created by parliament to regulate Medical Schemes in South Africa in 2010.
