ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile says the death of the party’s deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte will leave a huge void in the organisation.

He said it could not have come at a worse time when the ruling party is preparing for its elective conference in December.

Speaking at Luthuli House on Sunday, Mashatile said the ANC has already done six provincial conferences and is preparing for a policy conference which will start on July 27.

“It is a very busy year. It is a year that needs very organised administration at head office. Comrade Jessie was the pillar of our administration.

"Indeed we are facing serious challenges. We will have to make sure that we reorganise ourselves properly to try and fill that void.

“We are starting with a process in September to prepare for the national conference. Many of our branches will be going to BGMs [branch general meetings].

"There is no doubt that we will have to strengthen the work that we do at head office. She leaves behind a legacy of discipline, commitment to service,” Mashatile said.

Duarte died in the early hours of Sunday. She had been on sick leave since November.

“She vindicated herself in all responsibilities as a dependable and principled leader who spoke her mind within the confines of our platforms. She is certainly one of the best deputy secretary-generals the ANC has ever had. Her loss will reverberate in all our structures and will leave a huge void as we confront challenges within the movement

“Her passing is indeed a huge loss that will not go unnoticed to the ANC and the people who came to know her personally,” Mashatile said.

Mashatile said there will be no crisis because he has been been acting in her position.

"If there is a need to beef up the office, we will discuss that.

“The death of comrade Jessie marks yet another loss of very key activists who were at the core of building structures of the movement and fighting the apartheid regime. After the unbanning of the liberation movement, she was one of those who were at the heart of the rebuilding of the structures of ANC,” he said.

Duarte worked with the late Albertina Sisulu to build women structures in the then Transvaal.

She then served as the secretary of the Transvaal Federation of Women. and later worked with Rev Beyers Naude to mobilise funding for underprivileged youth.

Duarte was also a leader in the United Democratic Front.

She faced constant harassment from the apartheid security forces which resulted in her being detained many times without trial.

Duarte served as a special assistant to Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu and later was elected to the Gauteng provincial executive committee of the ANC.

She became a safety and security MEC in Gauteng and later was posted as ambassador of SA to Mozambique in 1999 where she served until 2003.

In 2012, she was elected as the deputy secretary-general of the ANC.

She will be laid to rest at 2pm on Sunday, according to Muslim rites.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has designated a special official category 2 funeral for Duarte and is expected to deliver the eulogy.