Hon Deputy Speaker, members of the House, ladies and gentlemen, may I just say that whilst I was sitting and listening, I thought of who Oom Jannie was, and I wondered what he would say if he were listening to all these beautiful tributes. So, I would like to touch on some of the issues that he deeply believed in, as well.
Let me start my tribute to the late Comrade Jan Hendrik, better known as Jannie Momberg, with an extract from Louis Leipoldt's poem, Oom Gert Vertel:
Ja, neef, wat kan ek, oumens, jou vertel? Jy wil die storie van ons sterfte hoor? Nou goed! Dis nooit te laat om daarvan nog Te leer en van gebruik te maak - veral Vir julle, jongling-mense. Hou maar vas Aan wat ons het, en staan orent, en neem Jul aandeel aan ons nasie!
Oom Jannie was large in life and is even larger in death. For this reason, I thought the poet's words were true and apt: Do you want to hear the story of our death? Well, then. It is never too late to learn from it or to use it, especially for you, young people. Hold on to what we have, stand up, and play your part in our nation.
My sincere condolences and sympathy go to the bereaved Momberg family. This has already been said by so many speakers. The loss of one so near and dear is never easy.
However, you can be proud of the gigantic and pioneering steps he took. He set an example for young and not-so-young Afrikaners, and a myriad of others: they, too, have a place in the ANC, and even more so in the democratic South Africa. I would venture so far as to say that his life was, indeed, an example for all South Africans and a manifestation of Leipoldt's words, "stand up and play your part in our nation".
To comprehend how great Oom Jannie was in life, one only has to look at the tomes of tributes and condolences that have poured in extolling his many virtues, and some vices! Oom Jannie was a pillar of strength, an elder statesman who could share his wisdom and experience with many a novice ANC Member of Parliament during that first and historic session of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Oom Jannie joined the ANC, and the Chief Whip has already spoken about that; about his roles in the ANC, in the executive in the Western Cape, and in the Whippery here. In 2001 he was appointed as South African Ambassador to Greece, Bulgaria and other places, and between 2005 and 2006 he occupied the position of Dean of the African Group of Ambassadors. For his tireless efforts and excellence in promoting diplomatic relations between South Africa and Greece, Momberg was awarded the City of Athens Medal of Honour by its mayor.
I want to focus today, though, on Leipoldt's words "neem deel aan ons nasie" - take part in our nation. They reflect Oom Jannie's life and his role as one of those progressive Afrikaners who shunned racism and embraced the movement for the construction of a nonracial, united and prosperous South Africa.
His death comes at a time when the opposition has virtually assured the hegemony of the minority white vote. Now is not the time to go back into the laager. Such was Oom Jannie's visionary leadership that, before the dawn of democracy, he had already recognised that the only path to nation- building was not to further marginalise the marginalised; and that the interests of white Afrikanerdom were best served in the mainstream of South African political life.
In his state of the nation address, President Zuma reminded us that the vision of the national democratic revolution is to build a united, nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa. This requires us to revisit the ideological roots of nonracialism. Comrade Deputy President Motlanthe stated in the inaugural address of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation that:
A case can be plausibly made that the seeds of a nonracial society were planted, although unintentionally, by colonial conditions among the oppressed even prior to the formal formation of the ANC in 1912.
Another early development in the history of nonracialism is the effort at interracial solidarity, as represented by co-operation between the ANC and the African People's Organisation, the APO. The APO was formed in 1902 under the leadership of Dr Abdullah Abdurahman, and mobilised mainly in the coloured communities. The increasingly harsh living conditions suffered by the oppressed contributed to nonracialism steadily gaining ground and taking root in society. Oom Jannie supported this.
From its genesis and throughout its formation and development, nonracialism drew in other forces and structures beyond the ANC. This has included the All African Convention, the SA Communist Party, the SA Indian Congress, the SA Coloured People's Organisation, the SA Congress of Democrats and the SA Congress of Trade Unions. It culminated with the Congress of the People in Kliptown in 1955 and the Freedom Charter as the lodestar of nonracialism.
This does not mean that we are free of contradiction. In fact, the opposite is true. Sixteen years into the democratic era the remnants of social oppression, economic exclusion and political marginalisation - the very factors that led to the formation of our movement - are still with us to some extent, and feed a rising resentment from the working-class masses. It is critical that, at this juncture of our history, we understand the immense challenge that we face along the fault-line of the monopolisation of capital.
Today, a black matriculant is seven times less likely than his white counterpart to get a chance at a job. Those were the issues that Oom Jannie cared about, was able to raise, and wanted to deal with in his lifetime. Here in the Western Cape we have added challenges: the leverage of state resources to perpetuate white ownership in state-rented accommodation, the awarding of large infrastructure tenders to white crony companies, and the prioritisation of mainly white areas for service delivery. [Interjections.] This level of insensitivity can only be born of illusions of grandeur and supremacy.
I read the headline in Sunday's KaapRapport, "Miljoene bruin mense gaan hul werk verloor" - more than a million coloured people will lose their jobs. I raise this point because I then sat and wondered what that does to the psyche of a community. What is the intention behind it? What is Solidarity's intention? What would Oom Jannie have said today about a headline like that? What is the implication of Solidarity's speaking out in the way they did, and, in fact, giving wrong information to the public?
Let us pay tribute in life, then, and let us analyse what those nonracial issues and features are that Oom Jannie was able to stand up for. How do we take that forward?
Oom Jannie could read the signs of the times. His visionary foresight earned him the wrath of many of his peers in certain communities when he joined the ANC. He will be remembered for his character as a rebel, reflected in his call for the scrapping of the Group Areas Act in 1986. Once he had crossed the Rubicon to his nonracial home in the ANC, there was no turning back. The course that he had chosen would lead to the building of bridges between communities estranged and isolated by apartheid.
There may be some who still harbour malice and resentment towards him. Yet, many others may be sitting and listening today to the accounts of the huge strides one man made, and how he has made his nation proud.
I want to end by quoting the same poet:
Roem van mense, rykdomme, pragte - Alles vergaan soos die mis op die vlei; Sterre wat skiet in dikdonker nagte, Het langer lewe dan roem kan kry. Boetie, as ons nou 'n keus moet wae Hier op die wreld, wat vra jy?
Here on earth, what are you asking? What are we asking when we have to confront ourselves on these nonracial features a few months before an election? Are we, for example, going into a fear process, or are we, as human beings, rising above that?
In the days, months and years that lie ahead, there will be many who will also want to listen to, grapple and wrestle with, and ruminate on Oom Jannie's wisdom, bravery and boldness. They will be inspired to break out of the laager and embrace a new place in their being South African - a place rooted in a sense of belonging to a great goal; a greater way of being connected to the diversity of nonracialism; a closeness with fellow South Africans in a caring and connected way, in that the joys and fruits of our nascent democracy are also theirs to share and enjoy. That is what Oom Jannie also stood for - a spirit of nonracialism. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Agreed to.