Deputy Speaker, my thanks go to the members for their tributes to the late Comrade Sicelo Shiceka. In fact, the tributes here reminded me of an African proverb, which says that until lions have their historians, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
A letter found in the pocket of an unknown El Salvadorian, who died in a fight for freedom, reads: Ask not my name Nor if you knew me The dream I have had Will grow without me. Alive no more I will go where my dreams have shown me. Those who carry on the fight Will plant other roses All will remember me.
This august House decided to convene this special sitting on this day of destiny to bid farewell to one of our own, a fearless fighter and a tireless warrior whose entire life was dedicated to serving the people and his movement the ANC. The life story of Comrade Sicelo Shiceka is the life story of his generation, a generation defined by Oliver Reginald Tambo as the "Young Lions", a generation that President O R Tambo called upon to make apartheid unworkable and the apartheid system ungovernable.
As many have said here, Comrade Sicelo never knew his youthfulness, because at a tender age he was thrust to the forefront of the struggle for freedom and liberation in this country. He understood very well the call made by his president, at the time of the South African Youth Congress, Comrade Peter Mokaba when he said that the youth are the shock troopers and are at the cutting edge of the revolution. He was a brave young lion whose blistering roars struck deep fear in the enemy camp.
As others have said, he rose from the ranks of the youth to the ranks of the workers. He also, when our democracy dawned, joined the contingent of cadres deployed by the ANC in the legislature of Gauteng. He was also elected to the national executive committee of the ANC at the last national conference in Polokwane.
Comrade Sicelo Shiceka became Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in 2008, which was called provincial and local government at the time. In 2009 President Zuma appointed him as the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
He launched an ambitious programme, and I think that when we talk of him today we will remember some of these programmes. Operation Clean-Up was an operation which was four-legged, and entailed: one, clean cities and towns, the objective being to promote environmental health and programmes to change waste into wealth, particularly the recycling of waste, and refuse- removal initiatives; two, debt collection, which some colleagues spoke about, and this entailed making sure that all those who owed municipalities paid up; three, public mobilisation and revenue enhancement, as well as infrastructure backlogs and economic development; and, four, Operation Clean Audit, a programme meant to ensure that all municipalities got unqualified audits by 2014. It was during the occasion of the state of the nation address, when he was still Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, that he signalled his intentions when he said: "The Ministry and Department of Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, which the President announced on 10 May 2009, will diligently and relentlessly play its role as the choir conductor of our system of co-operative governance." This earned him the name "Choir Master".
The death of Comrade Sicelo has removed from the political scene one of the greatest figures in the South African revolutionary movement. The injunction laid upon those Sicelo left behind was the same as that set upon Horatio by Hamlet: "to report me and my cause aright".
Every age has its prophet. The immediate conditions of life demand of the people that they act in a particular way, and each day carries a burden of its past and the seeds of the future. To understand and overcome the former as well as to appreciate and exploit the latter requires men and women with the passion, energy and forthrightness of Sicelo.
He was fearless in a difficult time before political liberation came. He was disciplined and excelled as a leader in political liberation fronts. His life contains a number of lessons for us as the leaders and soldiers who must carry the political spear forward.
We are saluting a leader today who, many years ago, stood up against what he believed was wrong and, in doing so, endangered himself and his survival together with his generation under the slogan: "Freedom or death, victory is certain".
We mourn his loss. We must thank him most profoundly, particularly the family, for his selfless service to all South Africans and humanity at large, for his generosity of spirit, and for teaching the nation love for people, respect for human dignity and compassion for the weak, the poor and the downtrodden.
A cadre of substance and principle, who will stand out in the memory of the nation in a very special way, is Comrade Sicelo. He brought a mixture of loyalty and passion to his public support of the new order that the organisation he faithfully served, the ANC, worked so hard to bring about. His fearless forays into issues of regional and national importance will be widely saluted not only by the members of the ANC, but by the nation as a whole.
Sithi hamba kahle Sukude, Mkhondwana, Santsabe, Gxarh'eliphezulu! Sithi Mthwa kasiHulu! Siyabonga. [Ihlombe.] [Farewell Sukude, Mkhondwana, Santsabe, Gxarh'eliphezulu! We say Mthwa kasiHulu! [clan names]. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Debate concluded.