Dear friends and fellow South Africans,
Yesterday the Honourable Dr Mario GR Oriani-Ambrosini MP chose to speak publically about his latest battle. Anyone with even a passing interest in politics will know that Dr Ambrosini is legendary for taking on giants, and winning.
It was Dr Ambrosini who took the Speaker of the National Assembly, who happens to be the son of anti-apartheid hero Walter Sisulu, all the way to the Constitutional Court, because he believed that the Rules of the National Assembly were bound to entitle all Members of Parliament to propose legislation, and not only ANC Ministers.
Up until that point, no one had questioned why a committee, dominated by ANC members, was allowed to act as a gatekeeper determining which draft legislation could be brought before Parliament, which could not, and which would never see the light of day.
Dr Ambrosini's fight on behalf of every current and future MP representing the voice of the people in the National Assembly, lasted well over a year, and posed a substantial personal financial risk. But he didn't give up, even when those closest to him suggested that it was time to throw in the towel. It seemed an impossible battle to win. But he won it.
Because of his raw courage and his dogged belief in the accuracy of his own judgment, Dr Ambrosini opened the way for greater democracy in South Africa, not only for this Parliament, but for all the Parliaments of our country's future. Because of Dr Ambrosini, a handful of people will no longer be able to stifle the voice of ordinary people when they call on their public representative to carry their hopes, aspirations and demands into the National Assembly.