Chairperson, during my time as chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services I worked with Comrade Florence Nyanda, who served in the NCOP and in that committee from 2004. I have a very clear recollection of her passionate devotion to the welfare of women and children, particularly those in prison. She was committed to women's issues. That goes without saying. For a long period of her life, she served as a member of the ANC Women's League.
Cope's president, Mr Mosiuoa Lekota, and the party in general were deeply saddened by the news of her passing after a short illness. In a statement released by Cope, the president expressed his deep sadness at losing such a dedicated person who fought for freedom in our lifetime. On behalf of Cope we are saying to the Nyanda family that you are not alone in having lost someone special. The entire country has suffered a loss.
Regarding the late Minister Roy Padayachie, like many of us he started out as a student activist in the 1960s and 1970s. From there he began to participate in community organisations like the Durban Housing Action Committee. He was also an executive committee member of the Natal Indian Congress. He was an active member of the United Democratic Front. I personally worked with the late Minister in the structures of the UDF in those days. We will really miss such a good and dedicated freedom fighter, who sacrificed so much in his life for all of us to enjoy what we are enjoying today. May his soul rest in peace.
Chairperson, on behalf of the DA and myself personally, I wish to extend our condolences to the family of Ms Florence Nyanda, affectionately known to me as "Flo" and to some of her friends and colleagues as "Ma".
Florence Nyanda passed away on Saturday, 5 May, in her home in the province of Mpumalanga after battling a long illness accompanied by much pain. She first became an ANC Member of Parliament in 2004 and served on various committees within the NCOP. I had the privilege of being on one with her. She then went on to the NA. Hamba kahle, Florence Nyanda, hamba kahle! [Go well!] We will miss you.
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Sihlalo, abahlonishwa abakhona phakathi kwethu, egameni leNkatha yeNkululeko, sizwakalisa ukudabuka eqenjini elibusayo ngokulahlekelwa ngabantu ebelibabeke ezikhundleni ezehlukene zikahulumeni.
Ukuhamba kukaNgqongqoshe uRoy - njengomuntu odabuka kulesiya sifundazwe engizalelwe kusona - kwasishaqisa sonke uma sizwa ukuthi udlule emhlabeni ehambe ngomsebenzi. Kanjalo nokuhamba kukadadewethu uFlorence, njengeLungu lePhalamende kumbe leNdlu yesiShayamthetho kaZwelonke, nakho kuyizindaba ezingabanga mnandi uma sizizwa ngoba bonke laba bantu benze umnikelo obonakalayo ezweni lethu. Basebenza emakomidini ePhalamende ahlukene kwazekwaba sekupheleni kwezinsuku zabo.
Eqenjini elibusayo nasemindenini yabo, siyanikhalela ngokudabuka ukuthi nilahlekelwe ngabantu esingakaze sizwe chashaza ngabo ekuphatheni kwabo umsebenzi kahulumeni. Abantu abanjengalabo-ke, abazinikele ezindabeni zabantu - yibona bantu esiye sidinge ukuthi baphile isikhathi eside - ukuze basize abantu ngoba njengoba nonke nilapha nithunyelwe amaqembu enu ukuze nikwazi ukusiza abantu abahluphekayo kuleli laseNingizimu Afrika. Sengathi bangaba zinyanya ezinhle, babe ngamadlozi amahle, baphendule imiqondo yenu nonembeza benu ukuze nisebenzele izwe ngokwethembeka. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Chairperson and hon members who are present here, as the IFP we want to convey our sadness to the ruling party, which has lost people whom it seconded to different portfolios in government.
We were shocked when we heard that Minister Roy, who is from the province where I was born, had passed on while he was out of the country on official duty. The passing of our sister, hon Florence, a Member of Parliament and the NA, was also not good news because these people made a significant contribution to this country. They served on various parliamentary committees until the end of their days.
To the ruling party and the families of the deceased, we are mourning with you the loss of people from whom there never was any hint of corruption when they conducted their duties in government. We need people like them - people who are committed to the nation's wellbeing - to live longer to serve the people. All of us here are sent by our parties to come and serve the poor of South Africa. May they be good ancestors and may their ancestral spirits be good to you, so that they can transform your minds and consciences in order for you to serve the country faithfully. Thank you.]
Mr Chairman, members of the House, Ministers present, it is with sadness that I rise to speak to you on the passing of Minister Radhakrishna Lutchmana Padayachie, popularly known as Roy. Roy was from my province, KwaZulu-Natal. He was a special person, held in very high esteem by the party he served steadfastly, unwaveringly and loyally. His demeanour, mannerisms and utmost humility were a living expression of the character traits of his name, that is truthful, morally upright, mischievous and humorous.
He was one of the leading political architects of the Natal Indian Congress and for this he was harassed, virtually on a daily basis, by the Bureau of State Security and later by the Special Branch. He shared many a story of his endeavours to evade arrest. He and his family paid a high price when he served time on Robben Island.
Our sincerest condolences go to Roy's family. You can be proud of the highest honour accorded to him on his death and the legacy he left behind. He lived his life as a true Gandhian. May he rest in peace.
Chairperson, I thank the hon Minister Sexwale and hon Deputy Minister Zoe Kota-Fredericks for their presence. Ladies and gentlemen and special delegates, our movement is in mourning and our hearts are bleeding with profound sorrow and grief. We have seen three of our beloved comrades pass away and being laid to rest in one week.
A few days after losing one of the bravest champions of our continued quest to dismantle the legacy of apartheid settlement in our country, Comrade Sicelo Shiceka, our nation woke up to the tragic news of the death of yet another loyal servant of our people, Comrade Roy Padayachie. He died in Ethiopia while attending a meeting of the African Peer Review Mechanism on behalf of President Jacob Zuma.
While our hearts were bleeding and our movement was in mourning, we lost yet another veteran of our struggle for gender equality, Ma Florence Nyanda, whose life, words and deeds were the embodiment of a true cadre of the ANC and a loyal servant of the people of Mpumalanga.
Allow me to pay homage and express our profound condolences to the families and friends of the three fallen cadres of our movement: Comrade Sicelo Shiceka, Comrade Roy Padayachie and Comrade Florence Nyanda, whose roll calls today give us sombre assurance that their lives will remain interlinked with the story of our movement's relentless journey to bring freedom to our people.
Those whose lives crossed the path travelled by Comrade Roy will attest with the utmost assurance that his life was that of a devoted soldier. He died with his boots on and in full uniform, a fearless warrior who held on to his spear until his last moment.
Comrade Roy served the ANC with distinction. He remained an instrumental figure in our quest to mobilise Indian workers to strike in the sugar-cane plantations, coal mines and factories through the Natal Indian Congress. He stood tall among the people of the former Natal province who took up the spear to wage a concerted fight against apartheid and all its ailments. All of us in the ANC can say for sure that with the help of the relentless effort and unwavering commitment of Comrade Roy, we defeated apartheid and all its manifestations. We thank his family for sharing him with us and the people of South Africa.
I lack the boldness of spirit to rise today and tell the story of the journey travelled by Mam' Florence Nyanda. I say this because I am still seeking the courage to overcome the grief of losing such a great veteran of the struggle of the people of Mpumalanga. Her life was the living monument of a true servant who chose to be nothing but a champion in the fight against the anguish and suffering experienced by her people. I too am still seeking the courage to rise from the sorrow and emptiness shared by the people of Mpumalanga and women across South Africa, as well as the country as a whole, for losing a relentless voice crying out against their suffering.
Mam' Florence Nyanda was a champion for women's rights and gender equality. Her illustrious political involvement in the struggle against apartheid is the epitome of a servant of the people; one who rose against and surmounted the travesties of growing up in a repressive apartheid society, which was characterised by the deep-rooted racial, cultural and gender discrimination that faced many of the women of her time.
She worked tirelessly, adding a formidable voice to those that were speaking out against the sufferings facing many women in Mpumalanga and the country. She worked for the ANC underground during apartheid and remained a significant champion of the transitional government after the integration of KaNgwane and the former Transvaal province into what is known today as Mpumalanga province. After serving on various transitional councils, she joined the Mpumalanga legislature before moving to the NCOP and subsequently to the NA to lend her voice to our relentless national quest to protect women and children.
I want to thank the Nyanda family for sharing her life with our movement and the people of South Africa. We say a fond farewell to this pulse of our movement. We also thank her for her sacrifice and tireless work in fighting for our people.
In conclusion, let me say that they ran the race, they fought and they became victors. All that awaits them is the crown shared with Bertha Gxowa, Ida Mntwana, Lillian Ngoyi, Dorothy Nyembe, Helen Joseph, Charlotte Maxeke, John Langalibalele Dube, Alfred Xuma, James Sebe Moroka, Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo ...
... nabanye abezimu bethu be-ANC, sithi abalale ngokuthula. Ngiyathokoza. [Iwahlo.] [... even our other ANC ancestors. We say, let them rest in peace. [Applause.]]
Debate concluded.
The Council observed a moment of silence for hon Mr R L Padayachie, MP, and hon Ms F M Nyanda, MP.