Morkel ‘took care of his people’
GERALD Morkel, former provincial premier and Cape Town mayor who died on Tuesday, was an admired but controversial political figure.
He was a member of the House of Representatives, the coloured chamber in PW Botha’s tricameral parliament.
This was after the Labour Party, led by Reverend Allan Hendrickse, decided to throw its weight behind Botha’s scheme of separate development.
It led to the formation of the United Democratic Front in 1983, which was at the forefront of the struggle against the tricameral system as well as the fight against apartheid.
The uprisings and subsequent states of emergency of the 1980s eventually led to the unbanning of the ANC and negotiations towards a democratic dispensation.
In the run-up to the 1994 elections, the Labour Party dissolved and some members joined either the NP, ANC or Democratic Party. Morkel joined the NP.
His former Labour and NP party colleague Abe Williams said he had fond memories of Morkel.
“I will remember him as someone who always cared for his community. He ensured his people were taken care of and served with humbleness,” he said.
Peter Hendrickse, a former ANC MP and son of former Labour Party leader Allan, said: “He went to the NP and I went to the ANC. My fondest memory of him was at the snooker table. Those were our best days,” he said.
Morkel, who was elected premier in 1999, was mired in controversy when he was linked to German businessman Jurgen Harksen and accused of soliciting money from him.
The Desai Commission‚ which investigated Morkel‚ said in December 2002 that he acted improperly, if not dishonestly, in seeking personal donations under false pretences.
Judge Siraj Desai said it was likely the DA took money from Harksen‚ who was extradited to Germany after nine years living in Cape Town.
Current provincial Premier Helen Zille’s spokesperson‚ Michael Mpofu‚ said: “Gerald was elected premier in 1999‚ and headed the first coalition government in democratic South Africa – pioneering a form of government now established throughout South Africa.
“As DA leader in the Western Cape he was on the frontline of some of the party’s toughest survival struggles when many colleagues defected‚ first to the New National Party and then to the ANC.”
Morkel was chosen to lead the NP in the Western Cape in 1994, succeeding Hernus Kriel.
‘I WILL REMEMBER HIM AS SOMEONE WHO ALWAYS CARED FOR HIS COMMUNITY’