House Chairperson, colleagues, our visitors and most of all ...
Sesotho:
... makoti wa rona kajeno.
IsiNdebele:
Angitjho bonyana ngibuhlungu ngombana namhlanje lilanga lakho kodwana bakugugisa intonga yePalamende ebudisi. Sizakuthini ngombana msebenzi wakho. Siyakuthokoza ngalokho.
English:
Hon members, far too long our people engaged in a protracted and prolonged struggle for liberation. The struggle was, among other things, to realise the principle of the Freedom Charter that says the people shall govern and that no government can claim legitimacy unless it is based on the will of the people.
We attained our democracy in 1994. Our government has led the process of the democratisation of our statehood. Our mission was and still is to create state institutions that will reflect the will, aspirations and desires of our people. Parliament is one such state institution.
The mace is one of the symbols of our statehood. It communicates our identity and who we are as a people. It communicates our history, our diversity and our culture. As the ANC, today we rise in honour of one outstanding patriot by the name of Ms Maite Regina Mohlomi.
For the past eight years, Ms Mohlomi has carried the mace, the symbol of the authority of Parliament, and in that way, her entrance to the House signalled the arrival of the Speaker of the National Assembly and the commencement of the proceedings of the House, and enforcing peace and order in the House upon the Speaker's instruction.
The responsibility to carry the mace requires a person of Ms Mohlomi's stature. It requires a South African who understands and appreciates the symbols of our statehood. It requires someone who will carry her responsibility with dignity and with utmost regard for the procedures of the House. And, Ms Mohlomi was such a person and is such a person. [Applause.]
For the past eight years, she has ensured that the views, aspirations and desires of South Africans are expressed in this House through their representatives, us as Members of Parliament. She has ensured that proceedings start on time.
Mama Mohlomi, you are about to board a really long flight. So put your seatbelt on and clutch the armrest tightly. The flight will take you to a beautiful destination, and that destination is called retirement.
When we talk of retirement, we talk of relaxing, enjoying time off, exploring new places, making time for yourself, entertaining friends and family, napping frequently, and, the best is yet to come.
We say retirement is when you stop living at work and start working at living. It is when life gives you the greatest reward there can ever be: peace of mind since there are no more targets; no more goals; no more key performance indicators, KPIs; no more meetings.
We understand that your departure will impact on those left behind, as we believe that ...
Sepedi:
... ga o ye le ditaola badimong; o rutile bao ba ?alago.
English:
Mama Mohlomi understood and practised protocol at all times. This is demonstrated by the fact that she would prefer to be the one who fetched the leading presiding officer to the House; at times reprimanding presiding officers for finding their way into the House, ignoring her protocol line. Today I want to say to you, I am the culprit here because I know you would always come to my office and I would already be sitting behind the Chamber here, and you would say, Huh, uh, House Chair ...
Sepedi:
... o tlile go nkobi?a mo?omong.
English:
It's my job to come and fetch you if you have to open in the House. I really apologise for giving you a hard time and for not listening to your protocol.
Sepedi:
Magage?o ...
English:
... these memories will always remain as part of the history of this House. To Ms Mohlomi we say, you have availed your time and energies to serve our people. You have lent a hand in strengthening our democracy and our democratic institutions. You have earned the accolades we shower on you today. When the history of this House, the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, is written, your name will be part of it.
As a former teacher, I understand how you could really keep on taking the instructions that sometimes were very hectic for you. However, knowing you, as a teacher you are able to carry that out. As I conclude I say, the ANC wishes you a well-deserved retirement. I thank you. [Applause.]
House Chair, on the EFF, I would like to thank Mam Regina for the treatment that she afforded us. Our first contact with Mam Regina was when we were evicted from this House. [Laughter.] She came to us. She approached us in a gentle and kind manner and tried to avoid the inevitable. But of course, history would have it that whatever ensued after that, had to ensue. Because there was no other way for the EFF to announce its arrival on the parliamentary political scene. We fought a valiant battle even though there was someone who tried to avoid it, calm us down, and create a different kind of history. Unfortunately, that is the history that has to go down.
So, I hope you will remember us kindly. There were many occasions on which you approached the EFF and asked us to leave gently and not to cause too much embarrassment because our families, our children and our friends are watching us, urging us to think of how they would view whatever we were going to get involved in then. But obviously, you know, our friends and families know what we are about and they expected us ...
But, we were always respectful. And whenever we approached Mam Regina, she always treated us with kindness and professionalism.
We are happy, Mam Regina, that it is your name that will go down in history as the first female Serjeant-at-arms. [Applause.] It is a fitting tribute to someone who has served this Parliament and the people of this country so well. Thank you very much.
Farewell! Enjoy your retirement. Remember that retirement is not about going to die. Retirement is when you have a real life. You don't have to deal with people who are unpleasant. You determine who you want to deal with. You determine what you want to do with the day and for the day. So retirement is real life. I'm very far from that! Thirty or 40 years from it...
You must tell us what it's like! And you must keep in contact ... send us messages. We'd like to hear from you. You must not disappear into the mist. Thank you. [Applause.]
House Chair, I can tell you something: This is history. This is history! Mam Regina, you have really created history, and you will go down in the annals of history as being someone who was really able to change hearts and minds. Because, just listening to the last speaker that stood on this podium ... if you were able to change their hearts and minds, aah, you've done well! [Laughter.] [Applause.] There is no better tribute you can be paid than that!
Having said that, hon Boroto spoke about the history of the South African mace. Let me tell you, colleagues, that, in medieval times, the royal Serjeant-at-arms carried a mace stamped with the royal coat of arms. At that, time the mace was a weapon used to assert the authority of the monarch. I'm glad it is not used as a weapon today!
Although, if you look at the shape of our mace, it does look like a knobkerrie! I think Mam Regina could have used it as a knobkerrie on some of us in this House! But fortunately, she did not!
I thought I would say to you, today, mam Regina, that there are probably some colours that you don't want to see when you go home and retire! [Laughter.] But, after that speech, I think you'll want to see that colour! You'll have a soft heart and you'll want to see red as well! It was those clad in red that enabled you to do something that you didn't do before, and I'm glad that you went there respectfully and spoke to our hon colleagues.
But you will be able to write a book on what they told you when you went to them. We don't know what they whispered to you! "Hayi, voetsek! Hayi, this and that!" [Laughter.] But we didn't hear them saying that and we know they didn't say that.
You carried out your duties as per the instruction of the presiding officer with such aplomb that they melted in your hands. That is the kind of Serjeant-at-arms we need here. I think, sometimes, it is a misnomer to use the term "sergeant" because we know of what that word reminds us - ipolisa [the police] - and we know what those sergeants did to us before 1994. And when we use the term
Serjeant-at-arms, it makes it even worse because there is the suggestion that the person is armed!
So, Mam Regina, the IFP and its leader, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi - who has been here for as long as you have ... I was here in 1994. He was here in 1994.
Yesterday, we talked about those who were here in that era. There are probably only 20 of us left who were here. We are very pleased to be associated with people like Mam Regina and others ... and I see for the first time in history, as well ... this is history in the making, today ... that all the colleagues who do the backroom work - the parliamentary support staff - are seated out there to give support to Mam Regina. [Applause.]
Thank you to all of you for the backroom work and for the support that you give us and for the nonsense that you sometimes take from us as Whips - why this speaker? Why not that speaker? You gave us short time, Chairperson! Check the clock again! - I think we don't always appreciate the kind of work ...
Mam Regina, you were able to bring all of them together, seated out there, so that we can recognise all of them that are there and some who are not there.
I think there's another practice that Mam Regina started a few years ago, and that was to go to the gym. She needed to have the muscle to do what she was instructed to do, sometimes by you, Mam Boroto! She had to have the muscle! So, continue gymming. It'll keep you healthy.
Please do not forget us here in Parliament. Pop in. We'll recognise you seated and up there and say hey, there's one of our former colleagues and friends.
Good luck to you and your family. Enjoy the rest of your time with them. Thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you, hon Singh. I heard every part of your speech. I heard all the words you uttered, except for one. Thank you very much! [Laughter.]
Hon House Chairperson, it's an honour and a privilege for me, on behalf of the FF Plus, to associate ourselves with the motion on the Order Paper today, where we are taking leave of our Serjeant-at-arms.
I met the Serjeant-at-arms, Regina Mohlomi, when she came here in 1996. I quite often saw her in the corridors, and later in the House.
As was correctly pointed out, she has served as Serjeant- at-arms for the last eight years. She is the first woman to be appointed in that role. She has always discharged her duties with so much dignity and close regard for the procedures of the House.
It is the duty of the Serjeant-at-arms to escort the presiding officers into the Chamber, and the President and other dignitaries during the state of the nation address, and to assist the presiding officers to maintain order in the House. Now that is one thing I think our colleague Regina did not always like to do. Because, under the instructions of a presiding officer and in terms of Rule 61, she from time to time had to act to
remove members from the House. If you look at Rule 57(3)(a) and (b) those who disrupt the proceedings had to be told to leave the House.
Now, the hon Paulsen indicated just now that there was no other choice: They were forced to do what they did for history's sake and Ms Regina Mohlomi played her role in that.
However, our colleagues from the EFF made one vital mistake. They didn't realise that Regina also had some friends ... friends with white shirts ... [Laughter.]
So, maybe they took Regina a bit lightly and thought they could handle her. But Regina's friends did what they needed to do and that's also part of history, and we all know that history!
It's always sad when a colleague leaves us. From time to time, that happens, and Regina is doing so today. I can only speak from my own experience. I can honestly say that I, in all those years, have not on one occasion met Regina in the corridors of this precinct when she did not
return a greeting with a huge smile. She always smiled and she was always in a good mood, and she always acted in that manner.
My father taught me - and I think it's true for all of us
- that one person in the right place at the right time can make a difference. We all know that Regina made that difference in our institution. [Applause.]
So, on behalf of the FF Plus and our colleagues, I want to say goodbye to Regina. She will always remain part of the family of Parliament. She will always be welcome here. We wish her well in her retirement.
If I may end in my home language:
Afrikaans:
Regina, jy moet mooi loop. Geniet jou aftrede. Wees veilig, en ons s vir jou baie, baie dankie! [Applous.]
House Chair, the ACDP joins other parties in paying tribute to the first female Sergeant-At-Arms at our South African Parliament, Ms Regina Mohlomi. She has
held this position since 2011 and has a total of 23 years in service for which we, from the ACDP, sincerely honour and thank her. Of course she will be best remembered for having to deal with disruptions and thank you, hon Phosa, for sharing some of the insights. I do believe that the former or current Sergeant-At-Arms should write a book to give account of all those things and I think that will be very interesting to read.
However, one needs to take a step back because, when she arrived in Parliament way back in 1996, one of her first responsibilities was to resolve ill-discipline at the Parliament then. I understand that there was a lot of drinking on the job that she had to resolve and she already, at that stage, became known as an enforcer of discipline in Parliament.
She also helped in the employee assistance office and became very capable in maintaining decorum and protecting this ground. One of the incidents was... I remember not long time ago I had a prayer group down here and the hon Mohlomi was upstairs and she said, "what are you doing down here?" I invited her to come and join us down here
which she then did graciously. We prayed for her and then she said, "your visitors are not allowed here; and she sent them out. That was the nature of she would deal with us with great friendliness; great courtesy; great firmness and professionalism. For that, we are always grateful.
As the hon Singh pointed out, whilst she might hold the rank of Sergeant-At- Arms, in our view she is indeed Regina, which in Latin means a royal queen who carries the mace. [Applause.] So, we trust that she and her family will be blessed on her retirement. I also want to thank all the Protection Service officials who are here supporting her as well. We honour you and thank you for the protection. Yes, we also say we are sorry for the times when we gave you the hard time when we come in and question you when look after our bags. It is just that you are looking after us. So, we honour and thank each one of you.
May I then, in conclusion, pray for a blessing upon you! That is the iconic blessing. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you. May he lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace! Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Setswana:
Dumelang bagaetsho.
Sesotho:
Kajeno re tlo dumedisa mosadi ya sebeditseng ka thata.
English:
Mama we are here to say thank you very much for serving us and this institution with distinction.
IsiXhosa:
... ngokuthi yonke le minyaka...
English:
You know one of the things that struck me about how you carried yourself in this Parliament...
IsiXhosa:
... yintobeko yakho[your humility.] Ude ufikelele kwiqondo lokuba abantu abatsha abafana nathi ubenyuse babengathi ngabantu abadala kunawe ekubeni inguwe omdala kwaye ungayibonakalisa nento yokuba unamagunya onawo kule Palamente nokuba sele ufuna ukusigxotha.
Ngenene yinyaniso emsulwa le ithi, bendisithi xa ndikuqhula ndithi ndifuna imini apho nam uzakukhe ukhangele iitshomi zindikhuphe ngaphandle. Ndiye ndacela kodwa kuwe ukuba ibenguwe buqu ondifunqulayo undikhuphela ngaphandle, kodwa ke zange wayenza loo nto.
English:
Probably you will have to do it again in the seventh democratic Parliament. The other important issue...
IsiXhosa:
... mama kwindlela nesikhokelo sakho ...
English:
... is that you had the unenviable task especially in the last term, of having to evict some of us from this House.
IsiXhosa:
Bakwenzisa umsebenzi obalulekileyo kuba uze ukhumbule ukuba ubungazukuwazi akho ude kufike amaxesha anjalo. Thina silapha nje siyi-UDM asiphakamelanga nje ukuthi uze uphumle kakuhle kumhlala-phantsi owuthathayo, sifuna ukuthi uwushiyile umzila ngemva. Ushiye umzila ukuze nabanye abazakufika emva kwakho ngakumbi xa ubungumama wokuqala oliDindala leNdlu yoWiso-mthetho yeSizwe.
Kufuneka siyazi ukuba abantwana abangamantombazana namanye amanina babone ukuba le nto iyakwazi ukwenziwa ngamanina apha ngaphathi kwaye bayenze iphumelele. Kuloo ndawo sifuna ukuthi, malibongwe! Xa ndigqibezela ndifuna ukuthi kuwe, mna njengenkokeli entsha ndiyifundile intobeko kuwe. Ndifundile ukuba ukwazi ukuthi umdala umhloniphe omncinci kunawe. Ndifundile ukuba umntu uyakwazi ukuthi emncinci athotyelwe nokuba sele engathethi into eyiyo, kuba kaloku uxabise into ephuma emlonyeni wakhe.
Umakhulu wam wayesithi, ubokumhlonipha umntu mntwana wam kuba umntu ayisingowakho ngokaThixo. Ndifuna ukuthi indlela ubusebenzisana nathi ngayo, ibinjalo. Ndithi ke
uze uwonwabele umhlala-phantsi mama, usazi ukuba thina eMzantsi Afrika nalapha kule Ndlu yoWiso-mthetho yeSizwe siyakuthanda. Camagu! [Kwaqhwatywa]
Hon Chairperson, let us, as the IEC, join other parties in paying tribute and bidding farewell to one of our own, a woman who has served Parliament to the best of her satisfaction. We appreciate the work that uMama Regina has done for the Parliament. Sometimes being the Sergeant- At-Arms cannot be an easy job because you are expected to use your power. So, it is not easy.
We have learned a lot and with pride that Ms Mohlomi comes very far. Your contribution to the country did not start from being just a Sergeant-At- Arms in Parliament. You were also a teacher for English and commercial subjects. We also believe that you must have taught some of the women to become businesswomen because of your teaching. That is a great job indeed!
It is a great honour for you to be the first woman Sergeant-At-Arms in the National Assembly to lead the President. It is now time that you should reflect on the
good that you have done for the country. As the AIC we wish you all the best. I remember just this morning when I spoke to you and asked you why you wanted to leave so early. You said you didn't want to go home in a state of not being able to speak or say anything to your child because of old age; you want to go home while you can still see. So, thank you very much for the work you have done. Thank you. [Applause.]
House Chairperson, on
15 February 2011, Ms Regina Mahlomi was announced as the appointed Serjeant- at-Arms of the National Assembly, with her effect of the appointment taking place on 10 February 2011 - the first female Serjeant-at-Arms in the Parliament of South Africa. Malibongwe! [Laughter.] Halala!, mam' uRegina, halala!
HON MEMBERS: Halala!
Mam' Regina has been tasked with the maintenance of the attendance register of the Members of Parliament for roughly eight years now. She has also been responsible for a very important job, which is maintaining the
discipline in the House, not only the discipline amongst members, but little did we know that ma Regina was also in charge of making sure that no strangers ever step foot on the hallowed floors of Parliament.
I thought that her job just meant the sacred ground on which MPs walk, but upon reflection, it turned out that in the public gallery, ma Ragina also had to make sure that all of our quests that came in also behave themselves.
So, when ma Regina first came in, I could not help but notice that I was 6 ft 2 and ma Regina was a little bit smaller than I was, and I wondered what would happen if I ever needed to be rejected. I soon realised when I felt the weight of the mace that I would never mess with ma Regina, because anyone who could carry the mace was definitely someone who visited the gym regularly.
We have seen our Serjeant-at-Arms carrying this mace many times, but I don't think any of us have ever appreciated the symbolism of her carrying the mace into the House, and the significance behind the fact of the tradition,
because the mace symbolises that the House is formally in session and that the proceedings that then continue are, in fact, official.
The mace that ma Regina has carried for all of these years is 1,196m long and it weighs a whopping 9,86 kg. At the head of the mace is an 18-karat gold drum, covered in springbok skin. The skin is attached to the drum by 18 buttons made of minerals and gemstones from South Africa. A book made of gold is on top of the drum, which has a raised text that contains an extract from the preamble to our Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
The mace reflects the history, tradition, diversity and cultures of the people of South Africa. Indeed, our Serjeant-at-Arms has reflected so much of the diversity of South Africa. As I said, I have never personally been asked to leave the House by ma Regina, because I am very well behaved, ... [Laughter.] ... but those who have been asked to leave, will attest to the fact that ma Regina has always spoken to them in their mother tongue. I think that it shows a great deal of respect and kindness that someone has taken the effort to learn what language you
speak, so that in a difficult time of confrontation, it is done in your mother tongue.
Having served Parliament with distinction, patriotism, bravery, we now congratulate ma Regina on her retirement. We wish her nothing but health and happiness, time well spent with her family and friends, relaxation and rest and mostly, a break from all of us MPs.
May your retirement be long and happy! It is most well deserved. On behalf of the DA, we thank you most sincerely for your service and wish you nothing but the best for this new chapter in your life. May I end by saying this: May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face and rain fall soft upon your fields, may God hold you in the palm of His hand. Thank you.
Debate concluded.
Motion agreed to.
The presiding
officers associate themselves with the motion.
Sesotho:
Re leboha haholo mme feela re kopa hore o nne o kgutle. [Ditsheho.]