Hon Speaker, hon Deputy Speaker, hon members, the children of ...
... Ntate Sefularo ba ba lego gona mo, Chere, Bonolo le Mmasetshaba ... [... Mr Sefularo that are in our midst, Chere, Bonolo and Mmasetshaba ...]
When the great and gigantic tree collapses in the forest, there is the screeching of the owl, the singing of the bird, the bellowing of the bull, the crying of the eagle, the roaring of the lion, the trumpeting of the elephant, and the growling of the tiger. The entire forest and animal kingdom responds in a collective and instantaneous reverberation in the recognition that the mighty in the forest has fallen.
The national shock and grief that followed the sudden departure of one of the country's beloved sons, Dr Paul Molefi Sefularo, resonates clearly with this phenomenon of the natural world.
... mokgapa o mogolo o wele, dithaga di lla bo?ogo?ogo. [... the great hero has fallen and the nation has lost.]
With the departure of Dr Molefi Sefularo, we have seen the collapse of one of the greatest products ever produced, a well-trained and seasoned cadre, anointed and baptised in the rich traditions and customs of our revolutionary movement. We have been robbed of a loving father and caring husband, a dedicated comrade and friend, a humble servant, a passionate and committed revolutionary, a prolific thinker, a valued academic, and a politician who dedicated his entire life to change.
Those who had the privilege of meeting or working with him will know Dr Sefularo as one of the hardest working, committed and humble cadres, true to the character of the caring organisation, the ANC, to which he belonged. He would always put the interests of others, particularly the less privileged in society, ahead of his own. He was selfless and, like many comrades who put their personal and family lives on hold in pursuit of the liberation struggle, he spent his life fighting for the South Africa that we live in today.
He was of the revolutionary generation of medical practitioners who surrendered their skills, talents and knowledge to the cause of our liberation during the most difficult period of our history. As a medical graduate from Medunsa, Dr Sefularo could have simply chosen to open a private practice and live a life that was financially comfortable for him and his family. However, because of his willing sacrifice and selflessness, he saw his qualification as one of the weapons in the cause of the people's struggle for freedom.
Through his practice as a doctor at the Natalspruit Hospital in Katlehong, he played a pivotal role in reviving the mass democratic structures, such as the youth and the civic movements in Ekurhuleni. When he was transferred to the Krugersdorp Hospital, he continued to work with many structures and unions in the area.
Like many other revolutionary medical practitioners ever produced by our revolution, Dr Sefularo understood that upholding the Hippocratic Oath of professionalism in medical practice was not a task that is only conducted with in the confines of hospital consultation rooms, but a task that involves healing the nation of all its social ills, such as poverty, underdevelopment, joblessness, crime, illiteracy and disease.
His death has indeed robbed all of us of a dynamic and talented leader with a passion for social justice and deep care for the poor. He crisscrossed the country, promoting health awareness and ensuring that our people, particularly the poor in the rural areas, had access to decent health care and that they were mobilised behind government programmes.
Consistent with his character as a people's person and committed servant, he lamented the state of our political activism in one of his last contributions to the ANC Today. He said:
One of the most critical failings on the part of the activists of our times is that with the advent of democracy, we allowed ourselves to be demobilised. We trusted too much the legally prescribed form of democratic participation and governance.
Our programme for the fundamental transformation of the national health care sector, which Dr Sefularo championed as part of our national Health Ministry, has been left the poorer for his death.
As we mourn his tragic death, we must also celebrate a colourful life entirely dedicated to the struggle for peace, freedom and justice. At the height of the repressive apartheid period, when joining the struggle was, at best, regarded as a ticket to prison and, at worst, a step closer to one's grave, Dr Sefularo defiantly joined the struggle like many other brave martyrs of our revolution, risking his own life and that of his family in the process.
When apartheid was finally dismantled in 1994 and cadres were roped in to serve in the newly formed democratic government, Dr Sefularo responded to the call. He formed part of the first generation of the new South Africa's legislators in the North West province, where he also held various leadership positions in the ANC and government, including as MEC for health and recently as the deputy chairperson of the ANC.
He may have been soft-spoken and not endowed with physical height, but he had the heart of a giant and was intellectually rich. When he joined Parliament in 2004, Dr Sefularo proved to be one of the most talented cadres who contributed remarkable arguments to the national discourse, particularly through various structures of the ANC caucus. He was an asset to the Whippery and the strategy committee which is tasked with ensuring that the ANC contributes qualitatively to debates in the House.
When we proclaimed that health would be one of our five priorities in the next five years, we said this with the knowledge and full understanding that our movement had a troop of outstanding cadres like Dr Sefularo, who had both the wisdom and strength to translate our manifesto into practical action to bring about real change in the quality of life of our people. In his last contribution to the ANC Today in February, Dr Sefularo wrote passionately about the importance of the need for quality health care for the poor. He said:
Our first priority lies in recognising that health care and, indeed, all public service, is based on values of caring, dedication and integrity; and that this has to be led from the top, from our leadership.
As we gather here today to celebrate his life we can proclaim, without any fear of contradiction, that Sefularo was indeed an outstanding cadre who never shied away from challenges. He was deeply committed to the struggle for the betterment of his people's lives. He served his people with distinction, and was loyal to the movement to the very last day of his life.
As we mourn his death, we are also celebrating the extraordinary qualities that he embodied as a comrade, father, husband, son, civil servant and caring health practitioner. Comrade Sefularo taught us that our membership in the ANC should and must not be motivated by material gain but by a willingness to serve our people. He performed whatever responsibilities the movement tasked him with with great pride and humanity.
To conclude, for him deployment was not about status but about serving the people of this country. He taught us to serve with commitment and dedication in the various areas of work where we are deployed.
Comrades and hon members, Comrade Sefularo indeed left us many lessons from which to draw. There can be no doubt that Comrade Sefularo will rest in peace if all of us gathered here today emulate his good deeds as we continue with the struggle to free our people from poverty and underdevelopment.
We must ensure that the betterment of the quality of life of millions of South Africans, through the enhancement of our health care and other services which Dr Sefularo dedicated his life fighting for, is speeded up in honour of his legacy. We must also, as a nation, ensure that we hold a successful Fifa Soccer World Cup in honour of his memory. As a Deputy Minister, he worked to position South Africa as a destination of choice for medical health care ahead of the Fifa Soccer World Cup.
Painful as it is to lose a man of the calibre of Dr Sefularo, we must nevertheless draw inspiration from and embrace the attitude of the Japanese writer Kenji Miyazawa, who said, "We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey".
Lastly, to the Sefularo family, particularly Mme Kgomotso, and to the children, Chere, Bonolo, Masechaba and Ipeleng, parents and parents-in-law, on behalf of the ANC I wish to thank you immensely for the strength, support and understanding that enabled Dr Sefularo to surrender and commit his life to the ANC and to the betterment of the lives of our people. We dare not betray the rich legacy Comrade Sefularo left for all of us. We shall pick up the spear and continue with the struggle until all our people have a better life.
Robala ka khut?o, Morolong, robala ka khut?o, Tholo! [Legofsi.] [Rest in peace, Morolong; rest in peace, Tholo! [Applause.]]
Debate concluded.
Motion agreed to, members standing.