President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his sadness, on Wednesday, at the passing of respected Tanzanian economist Professor Benno Ndulu, saying Africa had lost a great thinker and visionary in the infancy of continental free trade. 

Ndulu, aged 71, passed away in a hospital in Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania on Monday.

He served as one of the 18-member Economic Advisory Council, appointed by Ramaphosa in October 2019.

He described Ndulu as an outstanding economic intellectual with an extraordinary and vibrant passion for African development and for the reconstruction and recovery of South Africa’s own economy. 

Ramaphosa offered his condolences to Ndulu’s family, Tanzanians and Ndulu’s extensive, global and continental network of associates and partners, as well as to members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

“We share this great loss with the people of Tanzania, who, in their generosity, shared Prof Ndulu’s wisdom and vision with our nation through our Presidential Economic Advisory Council. We shall miss this special counsellor but we will be guided by the spirit and content of his lifetime of devotion to building a better Africa,” Ramaphosa said.