DURBAN - RETIRED politician Dr Ismail Vadi is expected to speak about his book, The Political Backbencher, at the Baitul Hikmah hall in Kenilworth Road, Sydenham, at 7pm on Tuesday.
Vadi launched his book in Durban on Sunday at the Hyper Heritage Book and Art Fair.
Derek Hanekom said he served with Vadi in Parliament from the dawn of South African democracy in 1994 until his redeployment in 2010 to the Gauteng provincial legislature.
“Since we both represented the ANC, we experienced parliamentary life from a similar political perspective. This book is a wonderful collection of anecdotes. It refreshes my own memory of the drama that unfolds behind the scenes in Parliament,” said Hanekom.
Besides chronicling his personal experiences of 16 years on the backbenches, Vadi reflects on some significant political developments that took place during those years.
The book is written in typical Vadi style. It is smart and funny while being incisive and erudite. In choosing the title, The Political Backbencher, in his deliberately unpretentious way, seeks to underplay his own stature and contribution in those hallowed chambers in Cape Town. His influence on many issues were far more significant than that of a mere backbencher.
Vadi was elected an ANC MP in the first democratic elections on April 27, 1994. He has served on the portfolio committees on education, communications and the joint standing committee on intelligence. In 2010, he was appointed as a member of the executive council for roads and transport in Gauteng. He has lectured in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Currently, he is a senior research associate at the University of Johannesburg and an adjunct faculty member at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria.
He has published on education, liberation history and security studies in South Africa.
Daily News