Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers present today, hon Members of Parliament, members of the gallery and of the media, I stand here before you today on behalf of the NFP to pay tribute to the late Secretary to Parliament, Michael Benjamin Coetzee.
Some of us may remember the late Michael Coetzee as the Secretary to Parliament and others may remember him for different portfolios he held whilst employed by Parliament. There is so much to the name Michael Coetzee - an academic, a unionist who represented South Africa at different levels of engagement with different representatives from different countries.
We are seated here today as a result of sacrifices made by many South Africans to liberate us from the inhuman prejudice of the past. One such South African was none other than the late Michael Benjamin Coetzee. His commitment to the struggle for a free South Africa, in which all South Africans can live side by side in one united South Africa and be treated with dignity and respect, is evident in his refusal to testify against our late struggle icon Oliver Tambo. His detention was testimony to his fight for a free South Africa.
Although he was detained and subpoenaed to appear in court in 1983, he refused to testify, as a result of which he was identified as a hostile witness. He committed himself until the final days of his life. Such was the character of our late Michael Benjamin Coetzee.
On behalf of the NFP, our leader, the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, V Z Msibi, and the national executive committee of the NFP, we extend our deepest condolences to the family of the late Secretary to Parliament, Michael Benjamin Coetzee. May Almighty God grant you the strength and courage to overcome this great loss.
To our late Secretary, Michael Coetzee, rest in peace, our comrade, colleague, our struggle icon and hero. May you be blessed with the highest abode in heaven! I thank you. [Applause.]