Selfless leader 'fought for all'

[caption id="attachment_36614" align="alignright" width="200"] MICHAEL COETZEE[/caption]

SOUTH Africa has lost a sterling and outstanding South African who had an immeasurable impact on our constitutional democracy and the post-apartheid parliament.

Michael Coetzee served this country selflessly as an accounting officer in parliament.

He played a pivotal role in opposing apartheid laws and the manifestations thereof when it was not fashionable to do so.

Today we have the opportunity to acknowledge his impeccable and selfless contribution to the attainment of the free and democratic society we have all come to enjoy.

He believed in, and fought for, the ideals outlined in the Freedom Charter: that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people.

We mourn his passing, but also celebrate his huge legacy. He believed strongly that justice could not prevail in an unjust system in which the majority of the people were dehumanised and oppressed by colonial and apartheid regimes.

He was a vigilant activist against the rot of corruption that seeks to devour our movement and society and also a critic against false leadership and opportunism.

Although, like all of us, he was fallible, he was always guided by the torch that was lit by the founders of the ANC and the entire liberation movement.

He remained a sharp intellectual and refused to be pigeonholed.

He understood the necessity for critical thinking and the dangers of dogmatism.

He was part of the generation from the Northern Areas that advocated nonracialism, such as the late Raymond Uren, Ronald Niegaardt, Ihron Rensburg, Danny Jordaan, Errol Heynes and many coloured activists who spearheaded apartheid resistance in areas such as Bethelsdorp, Korsten, Gelvandale, Arcadia, Helenvale and Malabar.

South Africans will remain eternally grateful to Coetzee for laying a strong administrative foundation to give shape the new ethos of a free and non-racial South Africa and for leading a team of dedicated staff in parliament to drive the government's vision of reconciliation as well as reconstruction and development at a crucial time in the history of our country.

We will sorely miss the tenacity and dedication of this distinguished technocrat and leader of our society.

He leaves us at a time when principle is in short supply in the country's politics.

Coetzee was a true revolutionary leader. His ideas and his contribution to the struggle for the liberation of our people will forever inspire the generations to come.

He will be remembered as one of the heroes of our struggle who volunteered their entire life for the freedom and dignity of our people.

He was a leader who understood the fundamental question that the unity of our revolutionary alliance and our people is the prerequisite for the success of our national democratic revolution. His entire life was inspired by this paramount historic task that we all strive to achieve.

Let us also continue to advance democracy and a better life for all, especially for the poor and the working class, in his memory.

These are the ideals that we fought for, the ideals that are articulated in the constitution and the Freedom Charter.

We should also build a society in which we accept that we need one another.

Gift Ngqondi, ANC branch chairman; Ernerst Malgas, branch and political researcher