PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki on Saturday said the government would build a monument in honour of the late Joe Modise and in commemoration of his contribution to South Africa. ”We will build a monument to him. He will be a visible particle in our continuous movement towards the unfathomable eternity of the evolution of the earth, the stars, life and society…” Mbeki said at Modise’s funeral service at the Johannesburg Stadium. The ceremony was attended by cabinet ministers, members of the diplomatic corps, military attaches, high profile guests and ANC supporters. Mbeki urged the people not to mourn, weep and grieve the death of a comrade. ”Do not impose on yourselves the attitudes of pathos that speaks of an adored object forever lost. Do not agree that death has proved that it is the final arbiter. Consider this the truth,” the President said. He said Modise was an architect of the SA National Defence Force and a lover of life and peace. Modise’s daughter Dipuso said the loss of a loved one was a painful experience and was worse when it was one’s father. She said her father was a man who was larger than life, a father and an inspiration. ”I have laughed, cried and shared some of the finest moments of my life with my father,” she said. Dipuso Modise said what she admired most of her father was that he was a lateral thinker, a parent and someone who loved education. – Sapa