Comrades good morning and welcome to our ordinary Caucus meeting once more
after a lengthy constituency period. As comrades have observed, the momentum of
our constituency and oversight work continue to find sustained articulation in the work
of our Committees and forms part of the strategic agenda of both Houses.
The prominence of the recovery of our economy from the devastations caused by the
recent wave of violent looting and wanton destruction of property on our agenda bears
testament to this. We do this to reaffirm our resolve that this should never happen
again under our watch and in our name. Most importantly, we do this to demonstrate
that the lives of 300 plus people – some of which were women and children – who died
in the midst of this violence did not perish in vain.
This Caucus takes place a few days after the African National Congress (ANC) and
indeed the people of South Africa suffered yet another tragic loss with the sudden
passing of Comrade Dan Montsitsi.
For most of us in the ANC, the name of Dan Montsitsi does not require any clarification. He was a former student leader of the 1976 youth uprising and a former Chairperson of this Caucus. Comrade Montsitsi was a cadre of unquestionable loyalty and commitment to our movement; his story is one a humble service to our people until the end.
The most practical way of honouring the legacy of Comrade Dan Montsitsi is to
intensify our efforts in the fight against the deadly Covid19 pandemic. Equally tragic has been the untimely of Comrade Dan Molapo who was working for the ANC Caucus as an IT Technician at the time of his passing. Comrade Dan joined the ANC Caucus in 2006 as an Admin Assistant and worked himself up to the position he recently held as an IT Technician.
As shall be remembered by many of us, this young comrade placed his skills and youthful energy at the disposal of ANC Caucus without fail. He offered himself to the life and health of our Caucus.
May their souls rest in eternal peace!
Comrades this Caucus assembles at the time when our country continues to reel from
one setback to another in the escalating scourge of Gender Based Violence (GBV).
Every week the country lowers its banners in honor of young women who are
murdered brutally by blood thirsty scoundrels. The most recent of these being the
senseless killing of Nosicelo Mtebeni, a Fort Hare student who was allegedly killed by
her boyfriend. There is a family that is also grieving the brutal killing of their pregnant
daughter in the township of Duduza (Nigel) in Gauteng.
To refresh our memory, this Caucus was initially scheduled to take place earlier on 19
August 2021 but had to be postponed to give way for the swearing in of the Speaker
of National Assembly following our engagement with NEC officials
Comrades allow me to officially welcome and congratulate Comrade Nosiviwe
Maphisa-Nqakula as the new Speaker of the National Assembly. She is certainly not
a newcomer to the legislative arm of the state and brings with her accumulated
experience of more than two decades in public sector governance. Comrade Nosiviwe
you have our collective support in the battles ahead.
In conclusion, please allow me to welcome comrades who were recently sworn in to
join the ANC Parliamentary Caucus. As a tradition, I must introduce these comrades
individually and call upon each one of them to rise as I call their names.
Thank you comrades, this Caucus is officially open!
