South African parliament honours Mandela

South Africa’s parliament held a special session on Monday honouring Nelson Mandela.<br /><br />The session in Cape Town began with an announcement that members of Mandela’s family were sitting in the gallery.<br /><br />South Africa’s deputy president, Kgalema Motlanthe, described how Mandela’s influence in South Africa and around the globe caused a “sweeping feeling of sorrow” following his death.<br /><br />Other politicians also paid tribute to Mandela.<br /><br />North West Province Premier Thandi Modise said: “We want to rededicate ourselves in his name, that is making ours a country that is decent, that is caring, that will always uphold the law, that will walk in the footsteps on Nelson Mandela – that is something which is not negotiable. We want to salute the ‘father of nations’ in South Africa and across the world.” <br /><br />The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Pieter Mulder, also paid tribute saying: “When we were young we all had dreams as to how we would change the world, how do we put our stamp on it. It is given to few persons to live out their dreams in their lifetime. Nelson Mandela succeeded in doing exactly this. In my youth I was involved in many debates about this. My argument was that politics was too complicated with too many variables for one person to make a real difference. Sir, I was wrong”, he said.<br /><br />Mandela died on Thursday at age 95.