South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to the long-serving deputy secretary-general of his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party Jessie Duarte, who died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. Duarte, 68, was elected to the leading position in the ANC in 2012 and had been serving until she went on medical leave in November last year. “Although our beloved comrade Jessie has been gravely ill for several months, it is difficult to comprehend that someone with such vitality and such spirit has departed this earth,” Ramaphosa told mourners on Sunday. “Comrade Jessie was…