Hon Speaker, hon Deputy President, I move without notice:
That the House -
1) notes with deep sadness that on 16 December 2009, the hon Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang passed away at the age of 69 at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital's Gordon Institute in Johannesburg, due to complications from her liver transplant;
2) recognises that Manto's entire life has been a selfless sacrifice to the people of South Africa and that even her harshest critics cannot argue this fact and that she as a young woman displayed a political awareness and maturity beyond her years;
3) further recognises that she left the country in September 1962, to continue the fight for liberation from outside the borders of the country and that during her time in exile she continued her studies and obtained her medical degree from the First Leningrad Medical Institute in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1969, in 1972 completed a Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the University of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania and also completed a Master's degree in Public Health at the University of Antwerp in Belgium;
4) remembers that Manto was a pillar of strength and touched our lives in her various capacities - as a comrade, a dedicated medical doctor, a distinguished servant of the people, a gender activist and a humanitarian - and from Tanzania to Botswana to South Africa used her skills to assist those in distress and in need of medical care and emotional support, especially in the MK camps;
5) further remembers that even after her return from exile in the early 90s, she worked tirelessly and selflessly to build a nonracial society, a nonsexist and democratic South Africa, guided by the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law, hence she is regarded as one of the founding members of a democratic Parliament in 1994;
6) recalls that her career in government began when she was appointed as the first Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and later served as Minister of Health and in 2008 was redeployed as Minister in the Presidency;
7) further recalls that, at the time of her death, she was an NEC member for both the ANC and the ANC Women's League, the Chairperson of the Social Sector Cluster of the South African Cabinet Committee and the African Union Goodwill Ambassador and Champion for Africa's Movement to improve Maternal Health and Promote Child Survival and Development in Africa beyond 2015;
8) acknowledges the numerous accolades Comrade Manto received as a testament to her unwavering commitment to the improvement of public health in South Africa and that in July 2008 she received the Walter Sisulu Award for Leadership Excellence from the South African Students Congress, and further acknowledges that, on behalf of the health professionals of South Africa, in July 2005, the Medical Education for South African Blacks honoured Manto for her contribution to health care delivery in South Africa, in 2005 the National Aids Trust Fund honoured her for the work she did in the prevention, care and treatment of HIV and Aids, that she also received an award from the World Health Organisation in 2004 for her commitment and delivery on intercountry and cross-border collaboration on Malaria, and that the American Cancer Society bestowed on her the Luther L Terry Award in 2000, for her effective work in tobacco control;
9) believes that she discharged her responsibilities with dedication, discipline, diligence and humility and that the life of this great leader epitomises heroism and commitment to the cause of the poor; and
10) conveys its heartfelt condolences to her husband, Mr Mendi Msimang, her family, friends and comrades in the African National Congress and the Alliance.