President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised that South Africa will not replicate the forced removals that typified land dispossession during the apartheid era and that the land reform policies are not intended to repeat historical injustices.
Ramaphosa was answering questions during the debate for the State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall.
He made it clear that land reform would be carried out within the bounds of the constitution and presented it as a necessary remedy for the nation’s past injustices.
Ramaphosa referred to the Natives Land Act of 1913 as the “original sin” that caused black South Africans to lose their land.
He also acknowledged the act’s long-term effects on poverty and inequality, stating that millions of black people were left in poverty and hardship and that these effects are still evident today.
Pain of forced removals
“In 1968, the apartheid regime began demolishing District Six to make way for a whites-only suburb. More than 60 000 people were forcibly removed. Families were torn apart. An entire community and way of life were destroyed,” he said.
“Over the course of two decades, the apartheid regime forcibly removed more than 3.5-million people in District Six, Sophiatown, Marabastad, Cato Manor, Kroonstad, Nelspruit, and many other places across the country.
“It was one of the largest mass removals of people in modern history.”
One of the saddest incidents in South Africa’s history, he said, occurred in District Six, a few kilometres from the parliament.
He said: “The people of this country know the pain of forced removals. That is why we will never allow forced removals again. That is why we have a constitution that prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of property.
“That is why we have a constitution that requires just and equitable compensation be paid in the event of expropriation for a public purpose or in the public interest.
“Our experience of forced removals also explains the constitutional requirement that the state must take reasonable measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions that enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis.”
We will not be bullied
Examining this period of history is crucial, he said, because knowledge of the past influences the future of the nation.
This is a pivotal moment for South Africa and the world, he said, and people should think about the kind of country they want to create.
He emphasised that a nation that is divided along racial, linguistic, economic, and geographic lines is not the way to go, but rather one where everyone is treated fairly and given equal opportunities.
“Together we should be better and weavers ready to build a nation working alongside each other. This is what the programme of the government of national unity is about.
“We will not be diverted from the path that we have set out. I repeat, we will not be bullied from our intent to work together,” said Ramaphosa.
