South Africa’s Public Service and Administration Minister Collins Chabane has died in a car accident, Johannesburg confirms.

A spokesperson for President Jacob Zuma said on Sunday that Chabane had died earlier in the morning.

“President Jacob Zuma is saddened to announce the untimely death of the Minister of Public Service and Administration, Mr. Collins Chabane, in a car crash in the early hours of this morning,” presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said.

He added that the death of the 54-year-old minister, described by Zuma as a competent, accomplished, and dependable member of cabinet, was a great loss for the government and country as a whole.

Some reports said Chabane’s vehicle had collided with a truck on a highway.

Chabane was also a member of parliament and the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress.

He was previously the minister in the presidency responsible for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation department.

Collins led the planning for the funeral ceremony of late president and South Africa’s iconic anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in December 2013.