Mr Speaker, I hereby move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes with deep sadness the death of former politician, academic and businessman Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert on Friday, 14 May 2010, at the age of 70;
(2) further notes that Dr Slabbert was born on 2 March 1940, spent his formative years in Polokwane (then known as Pietersburg), completed a BA Honours at the University of Stellenbosch in 1962 and was awarded a doctorate in 1967, that he also studied for 18 months at the Dutch Reformed Church's Theological Seminary at Stellenbosch before deciding on sociology as his proper calling;
(3) recalls that Dr Slabbert traveled to Lusaka in 1985 for talks with the external wing of the African National Congress and with the Inkatha Freedom Party's (then known as Inkatha ye Nkululeko ye Sizwe) Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, launched the National Convention Movement in an unsuccessful attempt to put pressure on the South African government to negotiate with all political groups;
(4) recognises Dr Slabbert's contribution towards shaping the South African political landscape; and
(5) conveys its heartfelt condolences to the Slabbert family, his relatives and friends.
Speaker, hon Members of Parliament, it is with great sadness that the ANC learnt of the death of the former Member of Parliament, respected academic, intellectual and prolific political commentator, Prof Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert.
He will be remembered for the role he played in the historic meeting between Afrikaner South Africans and the ANC representatives in exile, which spurred the advancement towards a democratic South Africa. The meeting further helped to open channels of communication between the ANC and the white community which had for a long time been bombarded with the apartheid regime's anti-ANC propaganda.
The ANC president, O R Tambo, commented on that meeting and remarked that -
An organisation that is opposed to the apartheid system, we regard as on our side.
That means Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert was, from that point, on our side.
For a long time, Prof Van Zyl Slabbert served as one of the few outstanding voices of reason amidst an ocean of ruthlessness, repression and subjugation.
He was amongst the few white South Africans who resisted apartheid when it was not fashionable or personally rewarding to do so. Like Helen Suzman, he sought to use his role within the parliamentary opposition, the Progressive Federal Party, as a platform to reject and fight apartheid.
He later resigned from Parliament in protest against the apartheid regime's inability to address the country's problems. He did so not only to send an unequivocal message to the regime about the wrongness of its oppressive policies, but also to avail himself of an opportunity to join extraparliamentary forces of change to accelerate the process towards the demise of the apartheid demon.
He argued at the time that staying on in that institution would merely serve to lend it legitimacy. Recognising the historic importance of this decisive break with the apartheid system by an Afrikaner, the leadership of the ANC made bold to salute him as a new voortrekker.
Van Zyl Slabbert will be missed for his intellectual and constructive analysis of the political challenges of the day, which enriched our political discourse and contributed to strengthening our constitutional democracy. This is the quality present-day academics, opposition politicians and commentators should emulate.
It is a pleasure for me to say that I had the honour to work with Van Zyl Slabbert when we negotiated the new dispensation of local government. We co- chaired the negotiating forum. I can confidently say that he brilliantly contributed to the new metro system of government that we have today. We know that this system owes a great deal to the work that he has done.
He not only facilitated the discussion but contributed to the formulation of the new system of government, especially at local government level.
As the ANC, we want to say that he must rest in peace. He has played his part in this democracy. We hope that all of us will emulate his good work. I thank you.
Speaker, I stand here on behalf of Cope to honour and remember a brave son of the soil ... [Interjections.]
Order, hon members! Please, let the speaker be heard. This is an important motion. Continue, hon member.
... a patriot and towering giant. I've been made to understand that he tackled hard on the rugby field, but harder in the political arena. The demise of Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert leaves us all with a deep sense of loss.
On behalf of Cope, I extend my sincerest condolences to his bereaved family. They must take comfort in the knowledge that we all grieve with them, and that in his death we have a rare opportunity to celebrate his life and achievements. He has departed this life, leaving behind a legacy that will live on.
Growing up in Pietersburg, Van Zyl Slabbert manifested leadership qualities from the beginning. He moved from classical studies at Wits to attaining his MA degree in Sociology and then his doctorate at Stellenbosch University.
Throughout his commendable life, Van Zyl Slabbert was a man of discernment and rare talent. In 1972, he became Head of the Sociology Department at Wits University. Even though his interest in politics started when he was young, Van Zyl Slabbert officially became seriously active in politics when he joined the Progressive Federal Party, PFP. In 1974, Slabbert accepted the nomination to stand for Rondebosch in the general elections. He triumphed over the National Party, NP, representative by 1 600 votes. He continued to hold a seat for the PFP in the 1977-81 elections.
Van Zyl Slabbert stood up against the oppressive regime and chose to relate to the suffering of the people. He did not see colour, because he was looking for justice. He was not driven by fear, but aspired to seek hope. He chose the hard and lonely path of a man of vision.
In 1979, he became the leader of the PFP and of the parliamentary opposition - a position he held until 1986. Slabbert soon felt that his fight within Parliament was leading nowhere, considering the iron hand with which the NP ruled. He, therefore, resigned from his position as a parliamentarian in 1986 to try his hand at negotiations. A year later, he started negotiations with ANC members in exile.
This resulted in the Dakar conference between the liberation movement and a group of mainly Afrikaner politicians, academics and businessmen. The conference was organised by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, Idasa, which he co-formed with Alex Boraine in July 1986.
He served Idasa as Director of Policy and Planning. In his book, The Other Side of History, he articulates the event with clarity with the sole objective to counter an attempt to rewrite history not as a record of what transpired but for political expediency. He later began a career in commerce by lecturing at the Wits Business School and engaged in political consultancy. He had many achievements. In 1964, he received an Abe Bailey Travel Bursary to the United Kingdom. In 1976, he was given an American cultural exchange award. He went to international conferences and delivered papers in the USA and Western Europe.
He was truly an enlightened representative of South Africa during the dark years of apartheid rule. He not only went against his fellow Afrikaners in pursuit of peace and justice in South Africa, but fought for this cause abroad. In 1977, he was a research fellow at the Bergtraesser Institute for Social Research in Freiburg, West Germany.
Slabbert jointly wrote a book with Prof D Welsh called South Africa's Options: Strategies for Sharing Power, which was published in 1979. He published papers and articles which appeared in several publications. He received honorary doctorates from Simon Fraser University in Canada and the Universities of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. He was a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in November 1982. He was also a businessman and a co-founder of Khula, a black investment trust, in 1990.
His contributions did not stop there. In 2002, President Thabo Mbeki appointed him to ... [Time expired.]
Speaker Xhamela, hon Ministers present, and hon members of the Assembly, on 14 May, South Africa lost one of the best minds ever to have graced our national discourse. The passing of Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert was met with a flood of tributes from politicians, academics and journalists, all singing the praises of a man who deserved every good word that was spoken about his life.
Today, we, in this House, honour the memory of a former colleague in the hope that what we say may capture the magnitude of our loss. I had the privilege of enjoying a long and sincere friendship with Dr Van Zyl Slabbert.
We first met in the 70s when he was a young lecturer at Stellenbosh University. At the time there was a group of businessmen and intellectuals who met to discuss current affairs since they were concerned about the situation in the country. Dr Van Zyl Slabbert was part of the study group called "Synthesis", to which I was also invited to participate.
My first impression was of a man of remarkable intellect, yet authentic humility. This humility spoke of a depth of character that I grew to respect and admire. More than anything, I was drawn to Dr Van Zyl Slabbert because of his integrity.
I was chatting with my son Ntuthukoyezwe - Zuzie to his friends - during the weekend. He said something about integrity which stuck in my mind. He said that if one has integrity, anything else doesn't matter; and if one hasn't got integrity, again, anything else doesn't matter.
When Dr Van Zyl Slabbert was elected leader of the PFP, I invited him to address Inkatha's conferences in Ulundi. Together, with members of our two organisations, we participated in many protest meetings in Durban and Johannesburg. We shared a vision for the liberation of South Africa, for which I nearly became ridiculed and vilified. Dr Van Zyl Slabbert and I both believed that the liberation of our country should be pursued through negotiations and not through the barrel of a gun.
In 1985, we formed the National Convention Movement which emphasised the need for government to negotiate with all political parties. The depth of our friendship became a cause for concern for the NP government at the time, which attempted to drive a wedge between the two of us. The government at that time released a transcript of a private conversation that Dr Van Zyl Slabbert had with the then Prime Minister, Mr PW Botha, in which Dr Slabbert was quoted as saying about me that:
He thinks that he is the only bull in the kraal
But to the government's dismay, this did not affect our good relations or our genuine friendship.
I respected Dr Van Zyl Slabbert's incisive criticism as well as his directness. He was a man who could always be trusted to speak his mind with sincerity and not tickle the ears with falsehood. This trait cost him the friendship of other leaders, but earned him my respect. He was a great asset to our country, which today is poorer for his passing. I was not surprised when, asked about his time as Chairman of the Van Zyl Slabbert Commission, he remarked that:
It was a disgusting and eminently forgettable experience.
As Minister of Home Affairs, I appointed Dr Van Zyl Slabbert to chair the commission which was established to redraft the Electoral Act. The Van Zyl Slabbert Commission brought together some of the best domestic and international minds - genuine democrats drawn from across the broader spectrum - because I understood that the Electoral Act is the contract between the politicians and the people, and thus cannot be written by the politicians alone.
The Van Zyl Slabbert Commission recognised that the present electoral system lacks accountability and proposed a system akin to the local government model, which combines constituencies and proportional representation. It was a well-considered recommendation based on comprehensive research, and Cabinet rejected it.
However, Cabinet committed itself to implementing the recommendations at a later stage. I regret that Dr Van Zyl Slabbert never lived to see that day, but I hope that his good intentions will not be forgotten.
On behalf of the IFP, I offer my sincere condolences to the family of Dr Van Zyl Slabbert and to the many who mourn his passing. He has left a tremendous legacy, and for that we thank him. We hope that he will forever rest in peace. To you, Van, I say "requiescat in pace" [rest in peace]. Thank you. [Applause.]
Speaker, Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert was a true patriot and a son of the soil, who had a passionate love for his country and closely followed the trials of the new democratic order that he helped to foster.
He will always be remembered as the progressive voice for change during the dying days of apartheid - someone who possessed the foresight and courage to seize the moment in bringing together members of the old regime and exile liberation movements at the historic Dakar meeting.
This meeting is widely recognised as being instrumental in fostering the conditions for our negotiated transition to occur. All South Africans owe him a depth of gratitude for the principled stance he took in all the various positions he occupied throughout his life.
On a more personal level, Van was my old friend who was always willing to share his political advice and experiences with me. He loved to debate with me about his pet topic Afrikaner versus Afrikaan. Eventually he wrote a good book about it.
He was a walking encyclopaedia. I often relied on him for quality advice. More than all of this, he was very firm on principle and really stood by what he believed in. His voice and presence will certainly be missed by all of us in the new, democratic South Africa.
The ID would also like to offer its sincerest condolences to Van Zyl Slabbert's family and friends during this difficult period. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Thank you. [Applause.]
Speaker, agb lede, ons vergader vandag hier om hulde te bring aan 'n groot Suid-Afrikaner. Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert was 'n man van woorde en 'n man van aksie met 'n rare mengsel van beginsel en visie. Hy was ook 'n man van vrede. In hierdie opsigte was hy 'n pionier wat vir ander blankes en Afrikaners gewys het dat daar wel hoop is om 'n morele en vreedsame einde aan apartheid te bring.
Waar ander slegs veroordeling gesien het, het Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert 'n visie vir 'n beter toekoms gehad. In 1980 sou andere dit sekerlik as 'n fantasie beskou het dat ek vandag hier, in hierdie Huis, sou staan en hulde bring aan hom in sy eie taal. Ek het egter geen twyfel dat hy net sou geglimlag en gevra het: Hoekom nie?
Die effek van sy bydrae tot ons nuwe grondwetlike bestel het ook verby 1994 gestrek. In sy hoedanigheid as die voorsitter van die kommissie wat die kiesstelsel vir hervorming ondersoek het, het hy weereens 'n waardevolle bydrae gemaak.
Net soos vantevore, is sy visie en wysheid ongelukkig nie met ope arms deur die regering van die dag ontvang nie. Daar kan geen groter huldeblyk aan hom wees as vir hierdie regering om nou daardie kommissie se werk te erken en te implementeer nie.
Laat my toe om aan Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert se familie en vriende ons opregte medelye mee te deel. Mag u in hierdie tyd troos vind in die opregte dankbaarheid van die hele nasie. U is in ons gedagtes en gebede. Mag hy in vrede rus. Ek dank u. [Applous]. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr N M KGANYAGO: Speaker, hon members, we gather here today to pay tribute to a great South African. Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert was a man of words and a man of action, with an unusual blend of principle and vision. Likewise he was a man of peace. In these respects he was a pioneer who showed other whites and Afrikaners that hope did indeed exist to bring an end to apartheid in a moral and peaceful manner. Where others only saw condemnation, Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert had a vision for a better future. In 1980, others would surely have regarded it as a fantasy that I would be standing here today, in this House, paying tribute to him in his mother tongue. However, I have no doubt that he would have just smiled and asked: Why not?
The result of his contribution towards our new constitutional dispensation also went beyond 1994. In his capacity as chairperson of the commission that examined reforming the electoral system he once more made a valuable contribution.
Just as before, his vision and wisdom were unfortunately not welcomed by the government of the day. There would be no greater homage paid to him than for this government to acknowledge and implement that commission's work right now.
Allow me to convey our sincere condolences to Fredrik Van Zyl Slabbert's family and friends. May you find comfort during this time in the sincere gratitude of the entire nation. You are in our thoughts and prayers. May he rest in peace. I thank you. [Applause.]]
Speaker, ek wil begin deur aan my agb kollega, mnr Kganyago, baie geluk en dankie te s vir die treffende wyse waarop hy so pas hulde gebring het aan Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert. Die wyse waarop hy dit gedoen het, stel vir ons almal 'n voorbeeld van hoe ons mekaar se tale en kultuur behoort te respekteer en te herken. Baie dankie daarvoor.
Die VF Plus spreek graag sy simpatie uit teenoor die familie en naasbestaandes van Dr Fredrik Van Zyl Slabbert, met sy onlangse afsterwe. Dr Slabbert het oor 'n lang tyd 'n belangrike rol in die Suid-Afrikaanse politiek gespeel. Ek het by verskillende openbare en private geleenthede met hom te doen gekry en was deurlopend bendruk met die eerlikheid waarin hy alle sake benader het.
Of jy met hom saamgestem of verskil het, het hy almal op dieselfde hoflike manier hanteer en integriteit en styl aan die politiek gebring, wat vandag dikwels kortkom. Die agb Buthelezi het reeds verwys na die belangrikheid van integriteit in die politiek en ek deel dit met hom.
Vir my is die grootste tragedie van die lewe van Dr Van Zyl Slabbert dat hy nie die geleentheid gehad het om 'n groter rol te kon speel en miskien meer aktief betrokke te kon wees in dt waarin hy sy ideaal gestel en waarvoor hy hom beywer het nie, naamlik 'n demokratiese alternatief wat na 1994 tot stand gekom het.
Sy politieke insigte en kommentaar sal sekerlik in Suid-Afrika gemis word. Hy het 'n groot bydrae gemaak en ons dra graag ons simpatie aan sy geliefdes oor. Baie dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.) [Dr C P MULDER: Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating and thanking my hon colleague, Mr Kganyago, for the striking manner in which he has just paid tribute to Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert. The way in which he has done this sets an example to all of us of how we have to respect and acknowledge each other's languages and cultures. Thank you very much for that.
The FF Plus would like to convey its condolences to the family and next of kin of Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert on his death, recently. Dr Slabbert played a pivotal role in South African politics over a long period of time. We've met at numerous public and private events and I was always impressed with the honest way in which he approached matters.
Whether you agreed or disagreed with him, he always handled everyone in a courteous way that infused politics with the integrity and style that is so often lacking nowadays. The hon Buthelezi has already referred to the importance of integrity in politics and I share that sentiment with him.
To me the biggest tragedy of the life of Dr Van Zyl Slabbert is the fact that he did not get an opportunity to play a bigger role and perhaps be more actively involved in that in which his ideals were vested and that which he was striving towards, namely a democratic alternative which was established in 1994.
His political insights and commentary will surely be missed in South Africa. He made a huge contribution and we would like to convey our condolences to his loved ones. Thank you very much.]
Speaker, the ACDP is saddened by the death of Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert, one of the architects of South Africa's transition from apartheid and a noted writer on its politics and sociology.
Dr Slabbert was a former leader of the then official opposition, the PFP, in the House of Assembly, a political analyst, successful businessman and one of our country's most respected visionary political leaders. We will remember him for his courage to stand up against apartheid, contrary to his upbringing and culture as an Afrikaner and at the cost of being labelled a traitor by his fellow Afrikaners.
In 1986, he surprised many when he and fellow MP, Alex Boraine, resigned as Members of Parliament, in protest against the politics of exclusion and repression that was promoted and perpetrated by the apartheid National Party government.
The Institute for Democracy in South Africa, Idasa, board chairman, Njabulo Ndebele, said and I quote:
Slabbert went against the grain, broke ranks, but established new alliances and friendships that transcended the old divisions. He was a remarkable South African who had a sharp and sensitive intelligence and a tremendous sense of humour.
One of the many initiatives Dr Slabbert will be remembered for was the conference Idasa held in Dakar, Senegal, in July 1987, which brought together about 60 influential white South Africans and members of the exiled ANC to initiate a dialogue that led to negotiations. This resulted in a political settlement, and the multiparty democracy we enjoy today.
To his wife and children, loved ones and colleagues, the ACDP offers their sincere condolences. South Africa has lost a great man of principle who left a great legacy. I thank you.
Speaker, the UCDP would like to offer its heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert. To have been an opposition party leader during the apartheid years, speaks a lot of the legacy he is leaving behind. We shall remember him for the role he played in prenegotiations between the ANC and the National Party.
May his soul rest in peace. I thank you.
Speaker, Acting President Jeff Radebe, it is my great honour to close this debate today by saying that there rose in South African public life a few champions of liberty and justice with a consistency of conviction, integrity and purpose. Our first democratically elected President, Nelson Mandela, is one of them. Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert, whose life we honour today, is another. Van Zyl wrote:
I was 50 years old when I met Madiba face to face for the first time. I was completely disarmed by him and felt immediately that I would like to do anything to help him achieve his vision for South Africa.
Van Zyl kept his promise to the end. He was an Afrikaner who walked a different road. He treasured the assets of his background, but found Afrikaner nationalism to be suffocating. He recoiled also from African nationalism. He found the narrow rights-based approach to be inherently conservative. Van Zyl was my kind of man: a thinking liberal with strong social democratic leanings.
For those who knew Van Zyl, he had a warm directness in approach, a charming civility, an irrepressible republicanism and an impatience with status and ceremonial pretension. He was an instinctual democrat, someone who wore justice on his sleeve and clutched it to his heart.
He became one of the most celebrated debaters in Parliament, which he joined in 1974 as a Progressive Party member. He left under great controversy as Leader of the Opposition and later formed the Institute for a Democratic Alternative in South Africa, Idasa, in 1986. He said then that P W Botha's Tricameral Parliament was a dangerous exercise in futility, for it aggravated the divisions in our land.
In the history of Parliament, Van Zyl joined the ranks of a few excellent MPs who learned the art of debate, including in our history the brilliant liberal, Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, and the equally brilliant communist, Sam Kahn. Van Zyl's infinite appreciation for the beauty of words, his carefully timed witticisms, his unrelenting search for the truth, and the politically productive sarcasm that he used, invoked to great effect, became his art.
At Idasa, he was a visionary who saw the necessity of creating a climate for dialogue and negotiations - he did not start negotiations - starting with the meeting in Dakar in 1987 and followed by numerous other gatherings, bringing together individuals from across the divide. Writers he brought together; soldiers he brought together; women he brought together; and constitutionalists he brought together, as well as analysts. After he left, Idasa continued having meetings in order to build consensus for our constitutional process.
It was Van Zyl Slabbert who steered the financier George Soros to invest his considerable wealth in the creation of a more open society here and later expanded the enterprise to all of the countries of the Southern African Development Community, SADC. He inspired the creation of the Vrye Weekblad in the world of journalism and the Institute for Security Studies in the world of policy studies. He founded the Gore Institute in Senegal, building a continental network that animated the quest for peace and justice in Africa.
Van Zyl gave a great deal to public service: as chairman, as the ANC's Chief Whip noted, of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Council, crafting a future for that city; as one of the leaders for the local government elections of 1995 and 1996; and, as the hon Buthelezi pointed out, with his electoral task team on which I had the privilege to serve.
That task team recommended that half of the MPs in this House ought to be chosen by constituencies directly and the other half by proportional representation. Greater accountability and the proportionality required by our Constitution were the mantra. Van Zyl's team completed the design, as well as the demarcation, and the lawyers wrote the draft Bill in preparation for this.
I urge this House and the Minister of Home Affairs, the hon Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, to appoint a task team to examine these proposals again. There is a great deal of interest among many members on both sides of this House in reforming our electoral process so as to empower voters.
About his role in life, I think of Van Zyl in the words of the Irish Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney, when he wrote:
Human beings suffer They torture one another. They get hurt and get hard. No poem or play or song Can fully right a wrong Inflicted and endured.
History says, don't hope On this side of the grave, But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up And hope and history rhyme.
In death, I think of our loss in the bleak melancholic poem of Eugne Marais, which must be read in Afrikaans:
O koud is die windjie en skraal. En blink in die dof-lig en kaal, so wyd as die Heer se genade, l die velde in sterlig en skade. En hoog in die rande, versprei in die brande, is die grassaad aan roere soos winkende hande.
O treurig die wysie op die ooswind se maat, soos die lied van 'n meisie in haar liefde verlaat. In elk grashalm se vou blink 'n druppel van dou, en vinnig verbleik dit tot ryp in die kou.
The DA wishes to express our deepest sympathy to his wife, Jane, his son, Riko, his daughter, Tania, and the many grandchildren who are part of the Slabbert family. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Motion agreed to.
The condolences of the House will be conveyed to the Slabbert family.