Hon Deputy Speaker, I move:
That the House -
1) notes that the Secretary to Parliament, Mr Michael Benjamin Coetzee, passed away after a prolonged illness on Friday, 13 June 2014;
2) acknowledges that Mr Coetzee served Parliament with distinction and dedication for almost twenty years, firstly as Head of Human Resources for Parliament from 1996 to 1998, as Deputy Secretary to Parliament from 2002 and then as Secretary and Accounting Officer of Parliament - a position to which he was appointed in November 2012;
3) remembers that he was Secretary to the Gauteng Legislature from 1998 to 2002 and that he had vast experience of trade union activities and organisation;
4) also remembers that he was an activist in his own right and participated in the struggle preceding the first democratic elections;
5) further acknowledges that Mr Coetzee was diagnosed with cancer some years ago but, true to his character, continued to attend to his work until the final days of his life; and
6) extends its profound condolences to Mr Coetzee's wife Bridgette, his son Matthew, his mother and his family, friends and colleagues at Parliament.
Agreed to.