CAPE TOWN: The body of Archbishop Desmond Tutu was carried Thursday into a historic cathedral where he once railed against white rule to allow South Africans to bid farewell to the anti-apartheid icon.
A small bouquet of carnations was placed on top of a simple pine coffin carried by six Anglican priests.
Tutu’s successor, Thabo Makgoba, said a prayer after priests burnt incense over the coffin before it was lifted from the hearse.
Tutu’s widow Leah walked slowly behind as the coffin entered the cathedral in the city center.
The tireless spiritual and political leader who died peacefully at 90 on Boxing Day, will be cremated and his ashes buried on New Year’s Day.
Tutu will lie in state at the Anglican Church’s St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town throughout Thursday and Friday to allow as many people as possible to say their final goodbyes to the much loved clergy and rights advocate.
Tutu’s lying in state had been extended to two days “for fear there might be a stampede,” Reverend Gilmore Fry said outside the church waiting for the body to arrive.
Following a private cremation, Tutu’s ashes will be interred inside his stonewalled former parish – where he preached for many years – and where bells have been ringing in his memory for 10 minutes at midday every day since Monday.
Hundreds of people have flocked to the cathedral since Sunday – where Tutu served as the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town for a decade until 1996 – to lay flowers and sign a book of condolences.
“We’ve come to pay our respects,” said Joan Coulson, 70, who with her sister had turned up early in the morning to be the first to enter the church to see the coffin.
She first met Tutu, her “rock star,” at the age of 15. “I would compare him with Elvis,” referring to the American rock and roll star .
Joking that the outspoken priest will be rabble-rousing even in heaven, Coulson added: “St. Peter will say ‘take it easy’ no ructions!’”
The country’s multi-colored national flag is flying at half-mast across South Africa.
Several ceremonies are taking place across the country every day until the funeral.
It will be a simple funeral in line with his wishes.
“He wanted no ostentatiousness or lavish spending,” said his foundation, adding he even “asked that the coffin be the cheapest available.”
Only a bouquet of carnations from his family will be on display in the cathedral on the funeral day.
In line with COVID-19 restrictions, only 100 mourners will attend the funeral.
Tutu had also wanted military rites to be limited.
Only the South African flag will be presented to his wife Leah, with whom he was married in 1955 and had four children.
Weakened by advanced age and prostate cancer, the Nobel Peace laureate had retired from public life in recent years.
He retired in 1996 to lead a harrowing journey into South Africa’s dark past as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which exposed the horrors of apartheid in terrible detail.
Desmond Tutu’s body lies in state at historic South Africa cathedral
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Desmond Tutu’s body lies in state at historic South Africa cathedral
- Archbishop will lie in state at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town throughout Thursday and Friday
US allows oil majors to broadly operate in Venezuela, new energy investments
- Treasury Department issues general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela
- Move is the most significant relaxation of sanctions on Venezuela since US forces captured and removed President Nicolas Maduro
WASHINGTON: The US eased sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector on Friday, issuing two general licenses that allow global energy companies to operate oil and gas projects in the OPEC member and for other companies to negotiate contracts to bring in fresh investments. The move was the most significant relaxation of sanctions on Venezuela since US forces captured and removed President Nicolas Maduro last month.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing Chevron, BP, Eni, Shell and Repsol to operate oil and gas operations in Venezuela. Those companies still have offices in the country and stakes in projects, and are among the main partners of state-run company PDVSA.
The authorization for the oil majors’ operations requires payments for royalties and Venezuelan taxes to go through the US-controlled Foreign Government Deposit Fund.
The other license allows companies around the world to enter contracts with PDVSA for new investments in Venezuelan oil and gas. The contracts are contingent on separate permits from OFAC.
The authorization does not allow transactions with companies in Russia, Iran, or China or entities owned or controlled by joint ventures with people in those countries.
The licenses “invite American and other aligned companies to play a constructive role in supporting economic recovery and responsible investment, ” the US State Department said in a release. Additional authorizations may be issued “as necessary,” it said.
A spokesperson for Chevron, the only US oil firm currently operating in Venezuela, said the company welcomed the new licenses.
“The new General Licenses, coupled with recent changes in Venezuela’s Hydrocarbons Law, are important steps toward enabling the further development of Venezuela’s resources for its people and for advancing regional energy security,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Eni said it is assessing the opportunities in Venezuela that the authorization opens up.
Oil law reform
The US licenses follow a sweeping reform of Venezuela’s main oil law approved last month, which grants autonomy for foreign oil and gas producers to operate, export and cash sale proceeds under existing joint ventures with PDVSA or through a new production-sharing contract model.
The US has had sanctions on Venezuela since 2019 when President Donald Trump imposed them during his first administration. Trump is now seeking $100 billion in investments by energy companies in Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday, during his second day of a trip to Venezuela, that oil sales from the country since Maduro’s capture have hit $1 billion and would hit another $5 billion in months.
Wright said the US will control the proceeds from the sales until Venezuela stands up a “representative government.” Since last month, the Treasury issued several other general licenses to facilitate oil exports, storage, imports and sales from Venezuela. It also authorized the provision of US goods, technology, software or services for the exploration, development or production of oil and gas in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government expropriated assets of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips in 2007 under then-President Hugo Chavez. The Trump administration is trying to get those companies to invest in Venezuela as well. At a meeting at the White House with Trump last month, Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said Venezuela was “uninvestable” at the moment.
Wright said on Thursday that Exxon, which no longer has an office in Venezuela, is in talks with the government there and gathering data about the oil sector. Exxon did not immediately comment.
