Madam Deputy Speaker, today I stand before this House to pay tribute to former Member of Parliament Nelson Noko Ramodike. Mr Ramodike retired from active politics in 2006 due to ill health. He passed away at 70 years of age in the Tzaneen Mediclinic. He is survived by his two wives and ten children.
Mr Ramodike had, to say the very least, a full and colourful political career. He was the former Chief Minister of the Lebowa homeland. He was a member of the then ruling party in the now defunct Bantustan, and in 1987 was made the Chief Minister following the death of Cedric Phatudi.
As resistance grew to apartheid minority rule in the 1990s, he formed the United People's Front and closed down the Lebowa People's Party. As a member of the United People's Front, he took part in the Codesa multiparty negotiations for a democratic South Africa.
Mr Ramodike certainly exercised his right to freedom of association, and then joined the ANC. The ANC included him on their party list for the first democratic election. He was, however, removed at the eleventh hour at the insistence of some party supporters from the Lebowa area. In response, he joined the PAC. Five years later, in 1999, he defected to the UDM and got his chance to serve in a democratic Parliament.
As a member of the UDM, he served as their spokesperson for minerals and energy and later for labour. He then formed the Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity. During the 2004 election, the new party formed a pact with the IFP. After the election, Mr Ramodike was not happy with the situation and left. He did, however, carry on life as a public representative by winning a seat in his home municipality, the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality. He served there as a councillor, but announced his retirement from politics in 2006. During his retirement, he announced proudly that he had returned to the ANC.
Madam Deputy Speaker, allow me to conclude by offering the family and friends of Nelson Ramodike my deepest condolences and those of the DA. Allow me to offer these words which, I hope, will bring some comfort:
Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow, I am the sun on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn's rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die.
Thank you. [Applause.]