Mr Speaker, the ACDP expresses shock and tremendous sadness over the death of UCDP president Mavis Matladi at the close of 2011. Our friend and colleague will be sorely missed. As the leader of the ACDP, Rev Kenneth Meshoe, said at the time:
Mrs Matladi will be missed for her wise counsel and lively contribution in Parliament. We have come to respect Mrs Matladi for her diligent commitment and her exceptional ability to co-operate closely with members of all political parties.
As we sat together in the National Assembly, Mavis was for me both serious and fun. She had strong principles and worked diligently, but always knew how to enjoy those around her and to lighten matters up with a laugh. I will remember her as an energetic and powerful presence, a stunning woman who dressed beautifully - a tribute to both the dignity of women, and of Parliament.
The ACDP extends condolences to the Matladi family and to her friends and colleagues in the UCDP. We are grateful that she knew Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour. So, we can be confident that she is at home with her Father in heaven.
Mavis Matladi was only 53 when she died and, as her colleagues pointed out at her funeral in Zeerust, which I attended, this was not even two months after the death of another colleague and friend, the UCDP's former deputy president, Paul Ditshetelo. This was a double tragedy, which was very disturbing, to say the least. [Applause.]