Mr Speaker, hon Deputy President and hon members, we in the UCDP and the Matladi family would like to express our gratitude, though sadly, to all who have joined us at our time of bereavement on the loss of our leader, our mother, our first to die in the harness while in Parliament since the democratic dispensation came into being.
Mrs Matladi was a tenacious Xanthippe who would leave no stone unturned in her quest for excellence in all she did. In her short life, she saw it all in politics. She felt the pain of being removed from chairing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts at the legislature where she served before, because she would not join the ruling party during the floor-crossing. She had to go to court to claim back her membership of the party after she had been unfairly expelled.
The fact that she took leadership positions - at work, while a teacher and a lecturer, as a member of the women's prayer group in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Southern Africa at its Western Diocese, in the party and here in Parliament, where it was felt that she could represent the institution at a continental level - is proof that she was a woman of substance.
We take consolation that, while she could not be promoted while still on this side of the Jordan, she has gained promotion in glory. We thank all those who joined the UCDP in sorrow when they learnt that Mavis had been called to higher service. Among them we count the Presidency - there was a special message from the Office of President Jacob Zuma - the Speaker's Office, for the special message that the Speaker sent, all political parties in Parliament, the service officers, some of whom still ask about her, and all South Africans of goodwill for all the tributes and messages of comfort to us as a party and, more so, to her dearly beloved family.
We thank Parliament for all the support provided during this sad period, even succeeding in sending a delegation to the funeral. We thank them too for the support they gave the family even after the occasion. We salute this descendant of the royal family of the Batlokwa ba ga Sedumedi [Batlokwa of the Sedumedi clan] and the Barolokogadi ba ga Maotwe [Barolokogadi of the Maotwe clan].
There is a verse in Hymn 120 of the Sesotho Zion hymn book, which goes as follows:
Seo o nkadimileng sona, ha o re ke se busetse, le teng ke tla leka hore ho lokile ho lokile. (Translation of Sesotho hymn follows.)
[What You have lent to me, when You say I should return it I will try to say that it's fine, it's fine.]
The emphasis is on "ke tla leka", [I will try] because it is difficult to part with anything that we as people hold dear. Let us all, nonetheless, take solace in that, even though we feel it was untimely for her to leave, she will have found eternal peace. After all, we are all sojourners on this earth. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Motion agreed to, all members standing.