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11 January 2021 Media Release: Garden Route District Municipality loses Roads employee

Media Release: Garden Route District Municipality loses Roads employee

For immediate release
11 January 2021

During the end of year and beginning of the new year while many families plan to enter the new year with hope and new plans, many other families experience a dark period in their lives; having to say farewell to a relative. And, it was during this period recently, when the family of Marthinus Pedro experienced the latter when they said goodbye to their loved one.

Marthinus sadly passed away at the age of 51. He was employed at the Garden Route District Municipality’s (GRDM’s) Roads Department from 6 August 2007.  At the time of his passing, he was employed as Grader Operator at GRDM Roads, Oudtshoorn region. Marthinus was a dedicated employee until his departure, according to Kleinbooi Stoffels, Superintendent: Roads and supervisor of Marthinus since 2011.

Looking back at the type of person he was and the contribution he made to the organisation, Stoffels described Marthinus as a gentle soul with a great passion for his work. He was regarded as one of GRDM’s best operators considering the good quality of work he performed, as well as his work ethics. “He was not a talkative person – he listened most of the time, but he responded only when he needed to,” Stoffels said.  Stoffels also referred to the late Pedro as person who was disciplined in every aspect of this job and he used his optimism to encourage his colleagues when things became tough. He was not only noticed by the colleagues as dedicated employee, but also by the public who loved and praised him, for his work. Stoffels furthermore added: “He did not believe in repeating a task – ‘You do it right the first time,’ he always said and we will miss him for being a great asset to the GRDM Roads Department”.

Gert Verwey, Deputy Manager for GRDM Roads, who also knew Marthinus well, described him as a quiet person. “Although he sometimes had to work through difficult circumstances, he remained polite”.  Adding to this, Verwey commended him for his ability to perform miracles on a road. He said: “He was an exceptional artist in road works, and he had the ability to give new hope to a road that many of us thought was irreparable”.  According to Verwey, his colleagues knew that they could not rush Marthinus to finish a task faster – quality was more important to him than quantity”.

Marthinus was loved by his colleagues at the Roads Department, especially the Oudtshoorn team. His passing leaves behind an emptiness as a person and as Grader Operator at GRDM, and we will sorely miss him.

We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Marthinus during his time of bereavement. May they hold on to his memories and may they find comfort in knowing that he was an great asset to the Municipality and the communities of the Garden Route district.

Rest in Peace Marthinus Pedro – until we meet again.