Hon Deputy Chairperson, hon members, special delegates, and ladies and gentlemen, this week our nation learnt with deep shock and sadness the tragic news of the passing away of the former Minister for Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Sicelo Shiceka, who was also a member of this august House. Allow me to join hands with compatriots throughout the country to extend my deepest condolences to the Shiceka family. The untimely passing away of Mr Shiceka is not only a loss to his family but a grief shared by the nation and the movement that he served with the utmost commitment and dedication.
He was a leader in his own right and distinguished himself in all his responsibilities and tasks. I am sure that those who walked with Mr Shiceka will bear testimony to the fact that he was truly a great South African. He showed the utmost commitment to the transformation of our local government. His leadership and political ideas will continue to inspire and drive our agenda to build an effective local government system.
Mr Shiceka was an outstanding leader of the struggle, who played a critical role in raising the confidence and consciousness of the 1976 generation in order for them to stand up and fight against oppression. He was an influential leader and icon for the many young people who were determined to wage a fearless fight against oppression in our society. As a young leader in the 1970s and 1980s, Comrade Sicelo Shiceka worked tirelessly to mobilise young people to wage a concerted fight against the apartheid regime and all its attempts to suppress our people.
Mr Shiceka was involved in various anti-apartheid structures. On the illustrious list of his contributions are the following: he was branch chairperson of the Congress of South African Students in Soweto in 1980 and a member of the Gauteng leadership structure of the Azanian Students Organisation in 1987. He was also involved in the labour union movement and became an organiser for the Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union in 1989 and its provincial secretary in the 1990s.
I must indicate that I worked with him during the United Democratic Front period in the 1980s. I also worked with him in the movement in the 1990s and when I joined the legislature in Gauteng in 1999. I bear testimony to the good work that he did during that period.
He became the deputy chairperson of the ANC'S Kyalami region in 1993 and a member of the ANC Gauteng provincial executive committee in 1996. He served as the Gauteng development planning and local government MEC, following the first democratic elections in 1994.
After the 2004 elections, Mr Shiceka joined the National Council of Provinces, where he served as Chairperson of the Select Committee on Local Government, Constitutional Development and Administration. In 2008 he was appointed Minister of the Department of Provincial and Local Government, which later became the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. He held the position until 2011.
He has run the race, fought the fight and become the victor. All that awaits him is a crown from John Dube, Alfred Xuma, James Moroka, Albert Luthuli, OR Tambo, Lillian Ngoyi, Dorothy Nyembe and many other departed leaders of this glorious movement.
Re a re mogaka, robala ka kagiso. [Rest in peace, comrade.]