Mr Speaker, the ACDP is deeply saddened to hear of the sudden passing on of the late Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Mr Roy Padayachie, whilst attending the African Peer Review Mechanism meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
We join other speakers in celebrating his life as a champion of good governance who will always be remembered for his remarkable dedication and the invaluable contribution he made to our country and our democracy. To echo the words of his daughter, Trevana Moodley -
My father was a brilliant, dedicated and hard-working man who gave his life to the struggle. He believed that things should be done properly or they shouldn't be done at all.
Despite being unwell, Minister Padayachie's selfless commitment, love and dedication to his country remained his top priority right to the end, and it is little wonder that President Zuma described him as someone on whom he could depend. He said that we would always remember those traits of humility and placing the needs of the country before one's own.
Minister Padayachie's daughter, Trevana, also made a further poignant comment that we as parliamentarians should be mindful of. She said that being a child of a politician was not easy and that -
(t)here were many occasions where "we wouldn't see my dad, or he would come back home late from his political commitments."
She said her father's biggest regret was that he didn't spend enough time with his family. We appreciate that it was part of his sacrifice, but let each one of us as parliamentarians learn from this, and ensure that we spend enough quality time with our families, lest we share similar regrets.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his wife Sally, and his two daughters Vindea and Trevana. May God grant you comfort and peace in this time of sadness, and may his memory remain an inspiration to us all. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mnr die Speaker en agb lede, ek het nie die agb Minister Padayachie geken nie, maar ek was baie genteresseerd in hierdie man wat die leiding van die Departement van Kommunikasie oorgeneem het tydens 'n uitdagende tydperk vir hierdie departement.
Hy het vir my voorgekom as 'n aangename man wat maklik toeganklik was. In gesprekke met mense wat hom geken het, blyk dit dan ook so te wees. Hy het op 'n keer self ons partyleier, Dr Pieter Mulder, geskakel om sy advies te vra oor kommunikasie-aangeleenthede. Hy was dus 'n baie oop man wat sy werk betref, en het almal gekonsulteer.
Weens my eie belangstelling in die mediawreld, en aangesien ek self spesialiseer in mediareg, het ek Minister Padayachie se werk in die Departement van Kommunikasie met belangstelling gevolg, alhoewel ek nie self in die komitee gedien het nie. Ek was bendruk met hoe gou hy die vakgebiede van sy portefeulje bemeester het, en sy ywer om oplossings te vind.
Die uitdagings van die Departement van Kommunikasie is van groot belang vir Suid-Afrika se ekonomiese ontwikkeling, en dit het inderdaad gelyk asof Minister Padayachie daarvoor teruggedeins het nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Adv A D ALBERTS: Mr Speaker and hon members, I did not know hon Minister Padayachie, but I was very interested in this person who took over the management of the Department of Communications at a very challenging stage for this department.
He appeared to me a pleasant person who could be easily approached. In discussions with people who knew him, this also seemed to be the case. On one occasion he even phoned our party leader, Dr Pieter Mulder, to get his advice on matters concerning communications. Therefore, he could be easily approached with regard to his work, and he consulted everyone. Due to my own interest in the world of the media, and since I specialise in the rights of the media, I followed Minister Padayachie's work in the Department of Communication with interest, although I did not serve on the committee myself. I was impressed by how quickly he managed to master the specialist fields within his portfolio, and his fervour to find solutions.
The challenges for the Department of Communications are of great importance to the development of South Africa's economy, and it seemed indeed as if Minister Padayachie did not shy away from them in the least.]
Minister Padayachie was one of the Ministers our country could be proud of. We offer our condolences to his family and pray that they will find solace in the fact that he was a well-liked man who had a full and fruitful life. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Speaker and hon members, like many people, I am one of those who learnt with shock that Minister Padayachie had been called to a better place, because at the Union Buildings on 27 April he went out of his way to congratulate me on the speech I had just delivered on that occasion. To me, he looked well then.
Roy was humility and modesty personified. He did not behave in a mercurial manner. He was down-to-earth and approachable. Who could imagine a microbiologist like him, all the way from Chatsworth in KwaZulu-Natal, going to Mantserre village in the North West province to address residents in the village about digital migration? Roy was at his best among the people in those distressed parts of the country.
In my party we are averse to saying someone's death was untimely, but I feel that in Minister Padayachie's case it was. South Africa was expecting more from him. There is no doubt that with his death the country has lost a worthy son, because no one can gainsay the fact that he was behind the transformation of the information and communication technology industry in the country.
He had a passion for community radio stations and believed that they gave marginalised communities a voice with which to articulate their aspirations.
The UCDP salutes this gentle giant and we believe that the sadness of this evening will result in joy in the morning. To his family, the greater KwaZulu-Natal, all South Africans and the ANC, on behalf of the UCDP I say: Take heart and accept this situation; he has "gone the way of all flesh", to quote Samuel Butler. I thank you.
Hon Speaker, the PAC of Azania is deeply saddened by the untimely death of Comrade Roy Padayachie. May his family, and his political family, the ANC, find solace in the fact that people such as Roy Padayachie are immortalised by their noble deeds. Comrade Roy Padayachie was not a "summertime soldier", to quote John Ritenbaugh; he was a soldier for all seasons. Early in his youth he identified himself with the oppressed through his work, and not just through his words. He served his party, the ANC, and the government in various capacities. He knew no demotion or promotion. Selfless service was all he knew, and he lived it. He endured the firestorms of oppression as well as the arctic coldness of a lonely prison cell. He broke the chains of steel and refrained from the temptation of succumbing to the shackles of gold.
Comrade Roy was a soldier for all seasons. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker, life and death are two very important parts of the cycle of a human being's life. For one to begin, the other has to come to an end. However, for the soul to attain salvation, we must not fall short of the glory of God.
It is on a very sad note that I convey, on behalf of the MF, our heartfelt condolences to the family, relatives and friends of the late Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Mr Roy Padayachie, who passed away tragically while on official business for the government of the Republic of South Africa. He gave of his best to whatever duty was designated for him by the hon President. The ANC has lost an outstanding, resourceful, energetic and committed character; our condolences also go to them.
From the time that he was a young man, Roy dedicated virtually his entire adult life to the advancement and upliftment of the community. Having obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Durban- Westville, he went on to achieve his Master of Science degree from the University of London.
He was a man with a warm and caring heart, with a great spirit of humility, and we will definitely always acknowledge that his honour came from fighting against the injustices and inequalities of the horrific apartheid regime that suppressed and oppressed the suffering masses across the board. The late Roy Padayachie was moulded as a great hero and true citizen of humanity.
He remained totally committed to his family and all those he represented. We will, indeed, miss his militant voice of protest in the community; his commitment to the fight of the struggle was never a compromise. Like Madiba, who once said that you must forgive but never forget, Roy Padayachie was precisely this kind of amazing personality who refused to bow down to oppression and lose his self-respect.
His immeasurable commitment, in-depth knowledge and indescribable determination will also leave a legacy to all South Africans. His legacy is infused with honesty, integrity and hard work.
To his wife and family we say, may God give you the strength and courage to deal with this irreplaceable loss.
To the late Roy Padayachie: You are a great inspiration, to be emulated by future leaders. God bless you, and hamba kahle [go well]. While we all continue to mourn the death of Roy Padayachie, may his soul rest in peace in heaven.
Hon members, during Mr Narend Singh's contribution there was a bit of a slip of the tongue in that he stated that Roy and he had been students on Robben Island. In fact, it should have been that Roy and he were college students on Salisbury Island, not on Robben Island. [Laughter.] This will also be corrected in the record.
Mr Speaker, Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, I am greatly honoured to have this opportunity today to pay tribute on behalf of the ANC to Roy Padayachie, who died so tragically on 5 May, just a few days ago. In fact, I can scarcely believe that he is not with us here today.
First I would like to extend my sincere condolences to his wife, Sally, and his daughters, his grandchild and the rest of his family, and say to them: My thoughts have been with you in these past few painful days of grief. It is a dark and painful loss for all of you, as indeed it is for our country. Much has been said about Roy in tributes paid to him by our President and many others, about his achievements in life, his activism in the anti- apartheid struggle, his work with the United Democratic Front and the Natal Indian Congress and, more recently, his achievements in government.
Roy was brave and he was principled. These are two characteristics which not many people possess and which are perhaps two of the most admirable of all human qualities.
I did not know Roy during those years when he worked in the Chatsworth, Phoenix and Merebank areas to mobilise communities in the struggle against the apartheid state and in favour of a free, democratic and nonracial South Africa, but many tributes have been paid to him for this extraordinary work.
In addition to this part of his life, and perhaps one area that is less well known, is his activism in the field of early childhood development. He was passionate about the subject and it is in great measure due to his efforts that so many strides have been made in this area in South Africa today, something for which we can be very grateful.
I came to know him later as my colleague and friend, when we served together as Deputy Ministers for more than six years. During that time the Roy that I knew had two sides to him. One was an intensely serious side. He was serious about his job, he was dedicated to the task at hand and he was thoughtful and intelligent in all this. This was the side of him that brought him to the ANC and to the nonracial struggle in pursuit of the ideals of the Freedom Charter. There is and was no more noble cause in the history of our country. Roy pursued these ideals with unshakeable conviction and in his own inimitable style.
The other side of him was the fun side. Roy was great fun. We had, I will now reveal to you here today, a sort of club of Deputy Ministers. We worked hard and we worked late and we would sometimes meet together to share our challenges and our experiences over dinner. We even had a slogan, created by one amongst us who shall remain nameless. The slogan was, "Deputies of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your Ministers!" [Laughter.] Roy loved that! Roy loved that and was always the life and soul of the party. He was, of course, subsequently and deservedly promoted to Minister and I know he never forgot that little bit of fun. I will remember him like this. In fact, the last time we spoke we shared a joke, and that was Roy.
But one of Roy's most endearing qualities was his absolute adoration of his family. He was so proud of his wife and his daughters, and well he should have been. Not only were they his closest allies in his work, but also his sounding board and his foundation. In this complicated world, a devoted and loving family is probably the most valuable asset a person can have. Roy had that and I have no doubt that in return his love of them and his contribution to his family will carry Sally and Roy's daughters through this impossibly difficult time.
I said earlier that the tributes to Roy that have poured in describe his achievements in life. Those achievements will also be his legacy, and the qualities that have described him are those that others should and will emulate. Those are the qualities that we can all emulate: courage, principle, devotion to family, seriousness in important things, and the ability to laugh at the unimportant. We all need these things.
I will remember Roy for all these qualities and I will remember him as a friend and comrade. I believe our memorial to him should be to be the kind of person that he was in our efforts, and to encourage those qualities in our children.
I will miss him, as will our country. Hamba kahle, comrade. [Go well, comrade.]
Debate concluded.
I thank the hon speakers. I take it that there are no objections to the motion. Will members please rise to observe a moment of silence in memory of the late hon Roy Padayachie? Motion agreed to, members standing.
Please be seated. The Deputy Speaker and I also join the House in expressing our deepest condolences. The condolences of the House will be conveyed to the Padayachie family and to the ANC.
Motion agreed to, all members standing.