We are gathered here today as the National Assembly to pay tribute and bid farewell to one of our former Members of Parliament, Mr Paul Harry Kgomotso Ditshetelo, who died on Tuesday, 11 October 2011, after he had been in ill health for some time.
Mr Ditshetelo diligently represented his party, the UCDP, in this House from 1999 to 2009. Hon Members, we are here today to bid farewell to this former colleague, who was also a wonderful husband to one of our MPs, the hon Celia Ditshetelo. The untimely and sudden death of Mr Paul Ditshetelo has not only robbed his family of a caring father and grandfather, but his departure from our midst is a great loss to the UCDP and the rest of South Africa. Even though I did not have the privilege of working closely with him, from what I have heard he has left a void that will not be filled.
Hon Celia Ditshetelo, although we may not feel the full extent of your pain, we appreciate that you know and understand that your loss is our loss too, because your husband was a man among those who dedicated their lives to the cause of the entire South Africa.
Hon members, as the ANC caucus we have assembled here not just to mourn, but to celebrate Mr Ditshetelo's life, which was well lived. He was one of the founding members of the UCDP and there is no doubt the UCDP has lost a hard worker and a leader who represented that greatness of spirit that keeps that party going. In these challenging times in the existence of the UCDP, we are all called upon to return to those values that he represented and lived by.
His death may serve to remind all of us to strive for unity and to put the wellbeing of our country and its people above all personal and sectarian considerations. Irrespective of party differences, we, the ANC, join all political parties in this House in celebrating the life of the late Kgomotso Ditshetelo.
This afternoon, let us rededicate ourselves to making this country of ours the cohesive, caring and decent society that we as South Africans can be proud of. As the ANC caucus we take this opportunity to express our deepest condolences to the Ditshetelo family. We want to say to them, in memory and in honour of Mr Kgomotso's life, that we are proud of the contribution he made during his term as a Member of Parliament.
Ba ga Ditshetelo, le balosika lotlhe, ra re lalang ka ntho madi a tshologa. Ga go a senyega sepe. Ke a leboga. [To the Ditshetelo family, may you be comforted in these trying times. It's not the end of the world. Thank you.]