Madam Deputy Speaker, thank you very much indeed. It was quite something today, watching the Serjeant-at-Arms, Mr Cleinwerck, arriving and announcing the arrival of the Speaker - first of all placing the Mace and then standing back to wait for the prayers or silent prayers or meditation,because I think all of us are aware of the fact that that was, in fact, the very last time that he would do that; he has been doing it for many years. [Applause.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, it was early in May 1987 when I arrived in Parliament as a very new Member of Parliament - hence I am allowed to wear this hat today, I might add. I had never been to Parliament before and was - to put it mildly - somewhat overawed by the experience. I was told by my colleagues that the very first thing I had to do was to go and get my parliamentary pass.
I was ushered by a colleague into a room in which sat a man who, I was told, was the Serjeant-at-Arms for the then House of Representatives. I have to be honest, I did not know who or what a Serjeant-at-Arms was, but I did learn there and then that this particular Serjeant-at-Arms went by the name of Godfrey Cleinwerck - a man who had been in that position for some three years. He sat me down; took my photograph; printed my pass; and I left. I left not really knowing that over the many years to come Godfrey Cleinwerck and I would become pretty good friends.
He has had a very distinguished career in Parliament. In 1994, he became the Serjeant-at-Arms for the new democratic National Assembly - a post, I would say without any fear of being wrong, he has filled with enormous dignity. [Applause.] [Interjections.] He did throw me out, hon Trevor Manuel. He did throw me out once, and I will come to that just now. [Laughter.].
It is difficult to imagine an opening of Parliament in the future without Serjeant-at-Arms Cleinwerck; immaculately dressed as always, shouldering the Mace and announcing the arrival of the President. Be it P W Botha, F W de Klerk, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe or Jacob Zuma - he has done them all. He has also served four Speakers in that time, and a host of Secretaries to Parliament.
I do need to add that one does not always know what a Serjeant-at-Arms does. I think they are quite secretive in a way. They even have a Commonwealth Association of Serjeants-at-Arms, of which he was chairperson for two years. I have often wondered what they really do in their quiet moments and where they stay, because nobody quite knows where Mr Cleinwerck's office is. [Laughter.]
Then suddenly, one day, miraculously, out of nowhere, when you have been thrown out of the House, the Serjeant-at-Arms appears. He comes up to you very quietly and tells you that you must leave the parliamentary precincts immediately and not return until the next day. [Laughter.] Let me assure you, when that happens, you do not argue. However, when it comes to Mr Cleinwerck, he is at all times the epitome of a gentleman, and even at times like this you just do as he says.
He likes to refer to himself as "the Speaker's bouncer". He has had the pleasure of bouncing 20 Members of Parliament since 1994. [Laughter.] As I said earlier to the hon Trevor Manuel, I am privileged, sir, to have been one of those that he has bounced, together with my colleagues from the DA, the hon Mike Waters and the hon David Maynier. I do want to say - and I am sorry that he is not here - that the serial offender in this regard is one hon Pieter Groenewald from the FF Plus, who has had the pleasure of being thrown out four times by the Speaker's bouncer. [Laughter.]
Mr Cleinwerck has done an outstanding job and has had a long and distinguished career. [Applause.] He has met many heads of state and has attended many conferences around the world to do his work. He is highly respected. As he goes now to retirement, I hope he writes a book. It will be a history of our Parliament from a very different perspective and will make, I am sure, a very positive contribution to what our understanding of the first 16 or 17 years of this democratic Parliament has been all about.
From the DA, we wish him well. Thank you, Godfrey, for your dedication to the cause of running this Parliament. We appreciate, certainly, all that you have done and congratulate you on a job well done. We wish you and your family all the best in your retirement years. Your family, your church and your societies that you serve so well will now benefit from your time in the same way that Parliament has for so long. I thank you. [Applause.]