HonourableSpeaker,

On behalf of my Leader, my party and the whole of South Africa, I would like
to give our heartiest congratulations to our paralympians on their
incredible achievements.

While you were in London your courageous spirit and victories both in sport
and as South African ambassadors permeated the hearts of all South African's
and brought immense pride to our country. We have come a long way in
achieving equality in sports and today we solidify that foundation through
celebrating and honouring you. Today we, as a nation, celebrate the solid
foundation that has been laid to reach that fundamental and democratic
ideal.

The journey to 2016 must begin here and now. We must capacitate our athletes
and put outreach programmes in place in order to open up sporting
opportunities to our people especially to those in our rural communities.

We say goodbye to Natalie du Toit, our most successful paralympian of all
time, with a tally of 13 gold and 2 silver medals. We are inspired by the
commitment you have shown in representing your country. You will always be
our golden girl.

And who can forget the 41.78 seconds world record in the men's 4x100 metre
relay, which was set by SamkeloRadebe, Zivan Smith, Amu Fourie and Oscar
Pistorius. And to all our other athletes, from TebohoMokgalagadi to Charles
Bouwer, you put on world class performances.

The presence of our paralympians in this parliament today symbolizes that
the impossible is possible.

I stand before you today and salute every single one of you on your
achievements. The IFP salutes you. God bless you and God bless South Africa.
You guys Rock!

I Thank you