Mr Speaker I move:
That the House -
(1) notes with sadness that on Sunday, 9 August 2009, Johannes Phumani "Past Four" Phungula passed away;
(2) further notes that "Past Four", as he was known by his comrades, joined the African National Congress in 1952 and immediately became a volunteer at the height of the defiance campaign while working as a migrant worker at Joko Tea;
(3) recognises that in 1959 hon Phungula was deployed to work in his hometown of Hlokozi to revive political consciousness among the rural communities that had participated in the popular rural struggles and that he was instrumental in mobilising women's protests in iXopo against the draconian pass laws;
(4) recalls that, together with President Jacob Zuma, hon Phungula worked tirelessly recruiting young people to join the African National Congress underground structures;
(5) remembers that in 1976 he left the country on the instructions of his movement, the African National Congress, and upon arrival in exile he was further instructed to go to the then Soviet Union to receive military training, and that on completion of his training he assumed many positions in uMkhonto we Sizwe ranks until his return to South Africa in 1993;
(6) further remembers that in 2004 he was elected to the National Assembly where he remained a member until the end of term of the third democratic Parliament, that "Past Four" had astute leadership qualities and that many of our public representatives were deferring to him for wise counsel;
(7) believes that hon Phungula has discharged his responsibilities with dedication, discipline, diligence and humility and that the life of this great leader epitomises heroism and commitment to the cause of the poor; and
(8) conveys its condolences to the Phungula family and the African National Congress.