I will now allow members who wish to pay tribute to the outgoing Secretary an opportunity to do so.
Hon Van der Merwe, it's true that I have spoken. However, when a committed civil servant retires, you need to speak, even if it is more than once, because of the services they have rendered to the country and its institutions.
I have known Mr Mansura from television screens before I had an opportunity to work with him in 2009. I found in him a committed public servant, a person who is selfless, a person who puts the interests of this institution, Parliament, and the parties represented here first.
I have always relied on him to make sure that the majority party, as well as other parties represented in the Chief Whips' Forum, do their work efficiently. He worked like a doctor on call. Any time you would need him, you'd just call and he would respond; you need a document from him, he would produce it before its deadline.
I think that a lot has been said about what we should expect from a public servant; I think that we have theorised a lot in that regard. Hence, today we have an opportunity to use Mr Mansura's departure to actually remind ourselves of what is expected of public servants; and what we received from him. We just need to institutionalise his conduct as what we expect from a public servant.
Mr Mansura, on behalf of the majority party and Chief Whips' Forum, I would want to say that the one thing that we have observed is your willingness to impart your skills to others; your ability to work with a collective. And we have no doubt that what gave you the courage to want to leave at this stage is the fact that you are not leaving this institution in the lurch. You have imparted all that you could to others. There will be no excuses on the part of any of your colleagues for not delivering, because you have actually armed them well enough. We wish you well.
Unfortunately, Speaker, I must say that I am sure Mr Mansura will still be on national call because he cannot retire from the Public Service because the country cannot allow him to do so. We still regard you as a semiretired and promise that you will hear from us again. Thank you very much. Go well! [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, for once, I think the Chief Whip of the ANC did the right thing by not taking the podium, and instead using his microphone so that we can face the honourable Mr Mansura. We should not stand with our backs to him when we say goodbye to him. Speaker, we live in an age of electronics, information and communications technology, ICT, and we are bombarded by Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn and heaven knows what else; not forgetting e-mails. You can actually by just pressing a button source information from a computer by using Google or any other search engine that is available to us through technology today.
When I took over as a Chief Whip of the DA, moving from the NCOP after my absence of approximately 10 years from the NA, I thought I should sharpen my knowledge. The first thing I did was to pay a visit to the Secretary to the National Assembly, Mohamed Kamal Mansura's office. I made a 15-minute appointment just to touch base and find out what is happening. Hon Speaker, I left that office after an hour and a half and he still had knowledge to impart to me.
When we say goodbye to Kamal Mansura, we are saying farewell to the parliamentary Google, because with him around, you did not need Google. He always had answers. We are very proud to have known you, Mr Mansura.
When I came to Parliament in 1994, you were already here. In fact, you joined Parliament in 1986. To the hon Van der Merwe, Mr Mansura is retiring after 27 years and I believe that you have been here for 35 years - take the hint. [Laughter.] Hon Speaker, it is not only his knowledge, but also the way in which he conducted himself - totally impartial at all times. I think every party in this House thought that he was on their side only by the way he conducted himself. He was totally impartial and a real example to many.
My personal assistant said to me when I left the office that she was going to call Mr Mansura's secretary to ask that a photo of him be taken in his Table dress so that she had that reminder for his last day in office. That is the high stand that you held in Parliament among Members of Parliament as well as staff. I want to say thank you very much.
There is a long list of accomplishments that Mr Mansura achieved, not only in South Africa, but all over the world. He served in universities as well. It is also very informative that he started to help with the Rules of the NA in 1994, the Joint Rules in 1996, the Rules of the NCOP, and was even involved in the writing of the rules for the Pan-African Parliament, to name but a few. These are the legacies that he leaves behind, from which we will benefit for many years to come. We salute him. We wish you and your family all the best for the future. I know he is not going to rest entirely. At least he confessed now that he wants to.
In saying goodbye to Mr Mansura, we also welcome the appointment of Mr Xaso. The one thing that I told caucus this morning that I appreciate in Parliament is that we can never blame Parliament for cadre deployment. People have to be experienced and work themselves up in the parliamentary precincts to get ahead. To Mr Mansura, rest well; and to Mr Xaso, work well. I thank you, sir. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker, the departure of Mr Mansura marks the end of an era in this Parliament. His professionalism and dedication to the building of this institution stands as a beacon and an example to those who will follow in his footsteps. Mr Mansura succeeded in applying and transferring skills and knowledge from a solid bank of institutional memory, making a very noteworthy contribution, and not only to the day-to-day workings, but also to Parliament as a pillar of constitutional democracy.
Apart from his understandable skills and background knowledge, he leaves a legacy of professionalism and nonpartisan handling of often diametrically opposite views and demands. His ability to transcend political and organisational cultures and to render a sterling and dedicated service to Parliament and all that is involved with it will be remembered.
On behalf of Cope, I would like to thank him for his support and guidance during our first term in Parliament. I realise that we often tested his patience, but we thank him for his professional ways and his willingness to share his knowledge with us.
On a personal note, I want to also thank him for his courtesy and understanding. Mr Mansura has the rare combination of the qualities of a highly skilled professional, an excellent communicator, and a true gentleman. We wish him well in his retirement, knowing that he is far too young and we will not allow him to get bored in the time to come. Thank you, Mr Speaker. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker, I agree with everything that was said today about Kamal. What I want to thank him for is the fact that after hours and on weekends, when I had a problem, I could phone him and he was always available to help me. I think what stands to his credit is that he could be called a "mobile rule book".
We also wish to welcome the new Secretary. In conclusion, I want to remind Kamal that when we were in Brazil last year, I sang a song that he liked very much, and I asked him if I may sing the first line of that song ... [Interjections.] [Laughter.]
Please don't. [Laughter.]
What did you say? Mr Speaker, I promised him that I would sing it for him. Can I sing it, Kamal? [Laughter.]
Mr Speaker, my colleagues and I in the ACDP will miss you, Mr Mansura. We have always been grateful for your generous and helpful manner. I, in fact, remember a time when I had an indicator that was faulty and didn't have a clue what I was going to do, and not only did you give me a clue, but you actually did it for me, and it was just amazing, and I thank you. You have been an asset to Parliament and to a nation that may actually never fully appreciate what your involvement in the running of this amazing institution really has been and has achieved. We wish you all the happiness and everything of the best as you move into this new season of your life. We say thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
We would also want to welcome the new appointment and wish Mr Xaso a happy and successful term in office. Thank you.
Mr Speaker, well, it is true that every party thinks that you are on its side, Mr Mansura, but as the PAC, we know that you have always been on the PAC's side. [Laughter.] Well, we will miss you dearly. I remember the day I visited you in your office without an appointment and you were very generous with your time.
Now that you are leaving, I can share with the whole of Parliament what you said, because you don't worry about promotion or lack of it, and indeed you said the debates in this Parliament were not robust enough, because we, Members of Parliament, tend to be glued to the papers, when we are supposed to speak off-the-cuff. And you went on to say that your ideal parliamentarian was Rev Farisani, who had a powerful voice and most of the time he spoke off-the-cuff. So, as you leave, I hope you are not leaving with your knowledge. I hope you will always be available to share with some of us the treasure that you have acquired over the years, that of knowing Parliament inside and out.
To Mr Xaso, I hope you are going to lead by example as your predecessor has done. And, of course, I know that you are equally approachable and you have always been helpful and you are on the side of the PAC. [Laughter.] Thank you.
Thank you, hon members. That concludes the speeches.
Mr Speaker, the ID is also in the House. [Laughter.] [Applause.] Thank you, Mr Speaker. The retirement of Mr Mansura actually comes to us as a shock, especially if you look at him. He is still very young to us and we believe that he could actually have done more for this country. Be that as it may, Speaker, I am thinking on this day of our visit to Panama, you as the Speaker and me, the hon Frolick and a number of others. I actually got to know him better.
I learnt that he is a very principled man. He is a man of calibre. He also has quite a lot of patience, and he is a very impartial person. And on behalf of the ID, I would like to wish him good luck.
I would like to say to Mr Xaso, who is going to fill those big shoes, good luck to you as well, and to Mr Mansura, please keep your lines open because we would like you to become the guru of this Parliament. Thank you very much, Speaker.
Thank you very much. Any other party? That concludes the speeches.
The Deputy Speaker and I also wish to express appreciation for Mr Mansura's contribution to Parliament and we also wish him well in his future endeavours.
We congratulate and welcome the new Secretary to the National Assembly. [Applause.]