Condolences have started pouring out from political parties accross South Africa have following the demise of founding Speaker of South Africa’s first democratic Parliament, Dr Frene Ginwala.
Ginwala passed away at her at home on Thursday night at the age of 90 after suffering a stroke two weeks ago.
The African National Congress (ANC) has expressed its sorrow at the passing of the party’s stalwart. The ruling party says Ginwala was a great leader.
“The African National Congress dips its revolutionary banner as it mourns the passing of the great leader, and architect of our democratic, non-racial, and non-sexist South Africa. The national executive committee of the ANC extends its heartfelt condolences to the family, loved ones, and comrades of Dr Frene Ginwala. Dr Frene Ginwala- was a member of the African National Congress, since the 1950s- serving on its national executive committee- heading its research department, and later its archives committee,” says ANC’s national spokesperson Pule Mabe.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) national spokesperson, and chief whip Siviwe Gwarube says that Ginwala was a guiding light for parliamentarians then and now.
“Today we bid farewell to somebody who has been part of the infrastructure of our democratic South Africa- and so, she leaves behind a legacy that I think is quite important. For us, may it be a guiding light for all of us that infact when you’ve got a legislature that works- that you can really start to materially change the lives of ordinary people.”
The Freedom Front’s, Pieter Groenwald says South Africa once again needs a speaker of the calibre of the late Frene Ginwala.
“As former speaker she had the gravitas to ensure that there was respect and discipline and she protected the decorum of the national assembly everybody knew that she was a speaker that ensured those values and what South African needs is a speaker like Frene Ginwala again.”
The Spokesperson for the Pan Africanist Congress, Apa Pooe, says Ginwala belonged to the generation of cadres that understood and could differentiate between the party, parliament, the executive and the judiciary parliament.
“Comrade Frene Ginwala belonged to the generation of cadres that understood and could differentiate between the party, parliament, the executive and the judiciary parliament. As you know we no longer have that calibre of leaders in this country. South Africans have indeed lost a great leader”).”
