Speaker, it is with immense sadness that I rise today to pay tribute to Minister Radhakrishna Lutchmana Padayachie, popularly known as Roy. As you will undoubtedly hear from fellow parliamentarians this morning, Roy was a very special person who was held in very high esteem by the party he served steadfastly, unwaveringly and loyally.
It is indeed an honour and privilege to pay tribute to him. I heard of his death early last Saturday morning and, as is human nature's wont, I reflected on my association with him. His demeanour, manner and utmost humility were a living expression of the character traits of his name, namely truthful, morally upright, mischievous and humorous.
In my student days I held him, among others, in awe, because they dared to take on the establishment. In fact, when I was young, any Indian student who took the ferry to Salisbury Island to study was looked up to. He was one of the leading political architects of the Natal Indian Congress. For his cause, he was arrested by the Special Branch, virtually on a daily basis. He shared many stories of his endeavours to evade arrest. Together with his family, he paid a high price when he served time on Robben Island.
I and many others will remember him for his dedication to the early childhood learning project and the housing action campaign, as a result of which he became a household name in Chatsworth, Merebank, Phoenix and Clairwood.
Roy and I shared a constituency boundary. We recently had a light-hearted conversation, when he was instrumental in helping with facilitating an application made by the South Indian community in KwaZulu-Natal to get a licence for a community radio station. I joked with him, saying that he was upping the North Indian-South Indian debate in his endeavour.
I am sure he would have been very sad to hear that one of his greatest supporters, Dr T P Naidoo, succumbed to cancer yesterday.
We in the DA extend our sincerest condolences to Sally, Trevana and Vindea on the loss of a father, husband and friend. You can be proud of the highest honour accorded to him on his death and the legacy he left behind. I would encourage you to celebrate his life and achievements as you mourn his loss. We thank you for sharing him with the rest of South Africa.
He lived his life as a true Gandhian, and I say rest in peace, Roy. Shanti, shanti, shanti. [Peace.] [Applause.]