Parliament, Thursday, 21 November - Members of the National Assembly(NA) delivered heartening farewell speeches for the first female Serjeant-at-Arms in the Parliament of South Africa, Ms Regina Mohlomi, who is due to retire at the end of 2019 after serving eight years in the position.
House Chairperson for Internal Arrangements in the NA, Ms Mmatlala Boroto, the first in line to reminisce about her encounters with Ms Mohlomi, said the responsibility to carry the mace required a South African who understood and appreciated the symbols of our statehood. She added that the responsibility required one with the utmost regard for the authority of the house while protecting and promoting its decorum. She described Ms Mohlomi as an outstanding South African, that did not only embody the values and the ideals represented by the House but lived and continued to demonstrate them in her words and her deeds.
The Economic Freedom Fighters wittily remembered the first day they were evicted as their first contact with her. “You approached us gently and calmly asked us to leave. You treated us with kindness and handled us with professionalism,” said EFF member Nazier Paulsen. Member of Parliament for the Inkatha Freedom Party, Mr Narend Singh wished her well in her new journey and said she had always managed to tolerate them even when they gave her a hard time. He further added that she managed to change hearts and minds and history will remember that.
United Democratic Movement MP Nqabayomzi Nkwankwa commended her for a job well done and bravery as a woman who has shown younger women that it is possible to do this type of a job, whilst MP Steven Swart of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) described her as a royal queen like her name means in Latin.
Ms Mohlomi’s duties for the past eight years as the Serjeant-at-Arms included being the official guardian of the mace, a decorated rod which is the symbol of authority of the Speaker of the National Assembly. She was also responsible for maintaining the attendance register of the Members in the House and order in the House.
Ms Mohlomi joined Parliament in 1996, after teaching English and commerce subjects at the Khanya-Lesedi High School in Ratanda on the East Rand. Before joining the National Assembly table in 2003, she worked in the Human Resources section, was a shop steward and also Chairperson of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) branch in Parliament.
Her retirement will be effective from 1 January 2020.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
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