Hon Speaker, Xhamela, his Excellency our Deputy President, hon Ministers and hon members, the death of former Minister and freedom fighter Kader Asmal has weakened our democracy and impoverished our Republic. One of our greatest independent thinkers has left us.
I had the pleasure of serving in Cabinet with Prof Asmal for 10 years. Despite his being the Minister of Water Affairs, he soon acquired the nickname "Minister of All Portfolios", because he dutifully read all Cabinet memoranda and provided his contribution. He set the standard of hard work, competence and efficiency at Cabinet level. He was an indefatigable worker, who believed in the dignity and necessity of work, and he worked until the very end. Just last Monday, he presided over a meeting of the Parliamentary Institute of South Africa, a brainchild of his, which will soon be launched to enrich our democracy. The institute will be his legacy amongst us in this Parliament.
Last week, Prof Asmal was labouring over his important contribution to protect the Republic and its democracy from the threats inherent in the proposed secrecy legislation. With his death, the Republic has lost one of the most vigilant custodians of our freedom and constitutional order. He never feared to speak up on matters of principle. He will remain an example of a courageous life inspired by the highest values, a democrat and a man of principle you can aspire to. Prof Asmal was dedicated to the struggle for democracy within the liberal tradition of tolerance and the pursuit of maximum freedom and liberty. He inspired the ANC liberalists. One hopes that his liberal spirit will continue to inspire us all. I can only hope that the ANC will honour his example, by teaching the values which forged our generation so that they may also shape our younger generation.
It is up to us to decide whether Prof Kader Asmal will continue to live in spirit, by upholding all that this Republic of ours stands for. We can choose therefore to continue to live by the legacy of our spoken, uncompromising and unwavering democratic vigilance, which Kader Asmal taught us, or we can yield, of course, to the weakness of closing our eyes to the ongoing democratic degeneration, keeping silent while what we built slowly disintegrates.
If we do the latter, we ourselves shall cause the death of Kader Asmal more than any physical ailment. But if we do the former, we shall ensure that whenever we speak in this House to defend democracy, the spirit and legacy of Kader Asmal shall continue.
I offer my and my party's condolences to the Asmal family and to the leadership of the ANC who have lost such a great comrade, and I am also saddened by the fact that I have lost a great homeboy from KwaZulu-Natal. [Applause.]