Speaker and hon members, I personally met the late hon Kganyago for the first time after the 2009 elections when he became a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.
Immediately, you would notice the many positive qualities that he had. He was always pleasant, polite and extremely respectful. He would always apologise if he was going to be late for meetings and would always request permission if he was going to need to leave a meeting early. He would never leave a meeting before I gave him an answer.
At first, I was somewhat sceptical of this exaggerated level of respect and humbleness that he displayed, but soon I realised that this was the man; a man of substance and quality. He was humble. He was friendly. He was funny and humorous.
I recall that when committee members first went for training in 2009, he was fascinated when we were briefed on the procedures of interception. He asked so many questions about his mobile phone that the members joked with him and asked whether he had a girlfriend that he was secretly communicating with, because they just couldn't understand why he was so fascinated with the subject matter.
There is another incident I'd like to tell the House about. One day he came to a meeting, very excited, and I had to calm him down. He said, "I've just won 350 000 and now I must get this money from England! I've already sent R3 000 to allow the money to come to me." When members started laughing, he enquired why they were laughing, and when he was told why, he started laughing the loudest. It appeared that he had not heard that there was this kind of thing going around, that everybody who had cellphones was winning large sums of money. At the beginning of the year he went with us, as part of the delegation of the committee, when we travelled to the USA on a study tour. Our American counterparts had our profiles, as they always do, including that of hon Kganyago. They remarked to me that they were very amazed that the ANC had invited him to serve in Cabinet from 2004 to 2009. They wanted to know: "Did you really have that amount of trust in the man?"
I would like to quote the hon Holomisa on the matter:
When he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Public Works, he said he could not believe the trust placed in him by the ANC.
What I found most interesting about the late hon Kganyago was his commitment to solving the problems of our country. I found him to be a true people's man and a true patriot.
I found a speech that he wrote when he was the Deputy Minister of Public Works. It was delivered at the University of Limpopo on 6 June 2005 at a graduation ceremony. Present in that ceremony were all the university academics, the graduates and their parents and guardians. He said:
... it must be said that one of the roles of academic institutions is to produce graduates.
... graduates must increase the pool of patriots, becoming, on their own, part of patriotic graduates whose mission is not to spread propaganda on behalf of South Africa, but who are equipped to provide objective truths to the world about their country.
He went on to say in his speech:
... right now, South Africans, both local and abroad, do not demonstrate the kind of passionate patriotism we see in many countries. We are a proud people, but are in the habit of focusing on the negative and saying little about the positive.
Mr Kganyago was an academic and we have already heard that he was a man who had many degrees; he had a Master's degree. What was quite clear, when one spoke to him, was his level of intelligence, the level of understanding that he had about many things.
The death of a dear one, whether timely or not, is a trying time for those who know that the world will not be the same without his or her presence. Though the heart grieves, most of us don't know how to express our sorrow or how to comfort those who need our support through some thoughtful words.
And so I am reminded of the words in the Bible in John 5:24 (KJV):
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
These are the comforting words of Jesus Himself. Therefore we, believers, know that Kganyago has gone to a better place. And so I speak on behalf of the ANC to his wife, Anna Kganyago, the children and grandchildren, other family members and friends: Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.
Today, and always, may loving memories bring you peace, comfort and strength. Please accept the ANC's deepest and sincerest sympathy. [Applause.]