Deputy Speaker, the ACDP learnt with profound sadness of the death of former Ambassador Jannie Momberg in January. Jannie was a veteran and courageous politician, a sports administrator and businessman.
His long political history began with the NP in 1957. He was a man who stood by his principles and he must have faced fierce personal and political resentment after being shouted down at the NP congress when he called for the Group Areas Act to be scrapped in the face of a motion calling for its stricter application. That issue led to his decision to cross the floor to the DP and, not long after, to the ANC when it was unbanned in 1992. He served both the ANC and the country with selflessness and dedication in various capacities over the years.
He was counted among the most progressive Afrikaners, who shunned racism and embraced the movement for the construction of a nonracial, united and prosperous South Africa. He was hailed as a hardworking individual. He was amongst the first generation of the movement's representatives in Parliament in 1994 and served as House Whip and chairperson of the Programming Committee from 1994 to 2001. He was a very experienced politician, and I found him to be very patient and helpful in assisting new members who did not have any parliamentary experience when they arrived.
Although he was not an athlete himself, when the famous runner Zola Budd competed in Stellenbosch as a young teenager, she stayed at his farm and, after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he became her manager.
In 2001, he was appointed as the South African Ambassador to Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus, where his dedication to his work was evident from his being awarded the Medal of the City of Athens.
On behalf of the ACDP, I extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Trienie, his four sons and their wives, and his five grandchildren. I thank you.