Mr Speaker, I move:
That the House -
1) notes with great sadness that on 19 November 2010 the news was received of the passing on of Mrs Bertha Gxowa, one of the most committed heroines of the struggle for freedom and democracy in South Africa;
2) further notes that MaBertha, as she was affectionately known, was one of the many men and women who selflessly chose to dedicate their lives to the people of this country and the improvement of the quality of life for all South Africans; 3) recalls that MaBertha was born on 28 November 1934 in Germiston location where she spent her early childhood and that she went to school at the Thokoza Primary School and then the public secondary school, both in the location, and that she began her working life as an office assistant for the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union;
4) remembers that she joined the ANC Youth League during the anti- Bantu education campaign which strengthened her involvement in politics, but her involvement was quickly shifted to focus around the plight of women and she became a founder member of the Federation of South African Women, which organised the historic women's march against pass laws in 1956;
5) further recalls that MaBertha travelled the entire country with Helen Joseph, collecting petitions that were to be delivered to the Union Buildings during the march, that 20 000 petitions were collected in total and between 1956 and 1958 MaBertha was a defendant in the Treason Trial and in 1960 was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act;
6) further remembers that in 1990, after the unbanning of all political parties, MaBertha was called upon to reorganise the ANC's Katlehong branch and she started a women's social club that was invited to participate in voter education during the 1994 election campaign and also became a Member of Parliament and was actively involved with the ANC Women's League where she was national treasurer and chairperson of the Gauteng province;
7) acknowledges her life achievements and major contribution to the freedom and rights we enjoy today, for which she was presented with the Order of Luthuli for her distinguished contribution to the struggle as a nation and that the House shall be eternally grateful and is very proud of her; and
8) conveys its heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and comrades in the ANC, ANCYL, ANCWL and alliance.