Former parliamentarian and Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Ismail Vadi has written a book entitled, ‘The Political Backbencher’.
The personal reflection presents a behind the scenes glimpse at the 16 years he spent in the National Assembly in Cape Town.
Vadi retired from politics in May 2019, and has since been working on educating young people on the importance of upholding the values enshrined in the constitution.
He explains the difference in the political landscape today compared to years ago.
“It’s a book that reflects on my years in parliament, so I became a member of parliament in 1994 and then served as an MP until 2021. So this, is a reflection of those years, 16 years in parliament. It’s not a hard history and it is a reflective piece.
The most important part has been the first five years into our transition into democracy. Those were exciting times, people had hope, vision, dynamism about bringing about change in the political system.
It was about changing all the laws and dumping all the apartheid legislation, bringing about a new culture in parliament.”
