Agb Speaker, ek dink as almal in die Raad na die lewe van mnr Joe Matthews luister, sal hulle saamstem dat hy die voorreg gehad het om 'n vol lewe te lei. Ons het wel polities van hom verskil, maar hy was altyd 'n voorbeeld vir daardie politieke partye en daardie politieke bewegings waarvan hy lid was. En ek dink altyd as 'n mens op die ouderdom kom wat hy bereik het en jy kan terugkyk op jou lewe, dan kan jy ook s dit was 'n voorreg.
Ek het die voorreg gehad om saam met hom te werk toe hy die Adjunkminister van Veiligheid en Sekuriteit was. Hy was altyd beleefd, hy was altyd hulpvaardig, en wat my veral ook opgeval het, is die goeie en perfekte Afrikaans wat hy gepraat het. In daardie opsig het hy ook 'n voorbeeld gestel.
Die VF Plus wil aan sy gesin, sy familie en sy vriende ons innige meegevoel meedeel. Dit is altyd 'n groot verlies en dit is ook altyd hartseer om 'n geliefde te verloor, daarom spreek ons ons innige meegevoel en simpatie uit teenoor hulle almal. Dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr P J GROERNEWALD: Hon Speaker, I think that when everyone in the House listens to the life that Mr Joe Matthews led, they would all agree that he had been privileged to have led such a full life. We may have differed from him politically, but he set an example to those political parties and those political movements of which he was a member. And it has always been my belief that if a person has reached the age that he has, and you are able to reflect on your life, then you would also have to admit that it has been a privilege.
I had the privilege to work with him when he was the Deputy Minister of Safety and Security. He was always polite, he was always ready to help, and what also struck me, in particular, was the excellent and perfect Afrikaans that he spoke. In that regard he also set a good example.
The FF Plus would like to extent our heartfelt condolences to his family, his relatives and his friends. It is always a great loss and it is also very painful to lose a loved one and, therefore, we would like to convey our heartfelt condolences and sympathy to all of them. Thank you.]