Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the TRC Housing Reparations Launch Ceremony, Sonkombo Sports Field, Ndwedwe Local Municipality

Programme Director,
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi,
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Thami Ntuli,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Executive Mayor of the iLembe District Municipality, Cllr Thobani Shandu,
Mayor of the Ndwedwe Local Municipality, Cllr SZ Mfeka,
MECs, Mayors and Councillors,
Representatives of institutions supporting democracy,
Representatives of the victims committees and civil society,
Traditional leaders,
Representatives of faith-based organisations,
The Ndwedwe community,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Sanibonani. Good Morning. Molweni. Dumelang. Avuxeni. Ndi Matsheloni. Lotjhani. Goeie môre. 

It is a great honour to be here today with the community of Ndwedwe to witness a milestone in our long journey towards justice and reconciliation. 

Today, we are marking the implementation of regulations that allow victims of apartheid identified through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process to receive housing assistance from the state. 

This reflects our commitment as a country to recognising and healing the divisions of our past, and to honouring all those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land.

We are marking this milestone almost exactly 30 years after the first public hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was held in East London on the 15th of April 1996.

The passage of time has not diminished our commitment to justice and reconciliation.

We remain determined to ensure that the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is completed.

This place, Ndwedwe, occupies a place of profound historical significance. 

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ndwedwe was one of the areas in KwaZulu-Natal most affected by political violence.

People were forced to flee their homes. Homes were burned and property was destroyed. Many innocent lives were lost. Families were rendered homeless and broken up. 

Many people lost their livelihoods and access to their land. 

The effects of the violence lasted for many years and some still persist to this day.

When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 1995 to uncover the atrocities that had been committed under apartheid, survivors from Ndwedwe testified at the hearings. 

A number of them were elderly victims, who are now in their eighties and nineties.

The TRC documented hundreds of cases of arson, assaults, killings and forced removals in Ndwedwe and formally recognised a number of residents as victims of gross human rights violations. 

Ndwedwe stands as a powerful site of memory and survival, representing rural communities whose suffering often received less public attention but was no less devastating. 

As a country, we understand that truth alone is not sufficient to repair the harm that was done. We know that reconciliation cannot be enduring without reparations.

The provision of reparations is not just an act of goodwill. It is a moral obligation and a vital part of restoring people’s dignity. 

Even though the democratic state is not responsible for the atrocities committed in the name of apartheid, it is up to the democratic state to make a decisive break with the hurts of the past if we are to move forward together.

The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission made a number of recommendations to the President on possible measures that could be taken to restore the dignity of victims.

These measures included once-off grants, medical benefits and other forms of social assistance, the construction of monuments, and other forms of community rehabilitation. 

The report recommended that the state give special attention to housing assistance in areas such as Ndwedwe, where violence resulted in mass destruction of property and displacement. 

The housing assistance regulations that we published in January 2026 flow directly from these recommendations. 

The regulations set out how housing assistance will be provided to beneficiaries who have been formally identified and verified through the TRC process. 

The confirmed beneficiaries are eligible to receive a once-off grant for housing assistance or the construction of a new home. 

The cost of the reparations will be borne by the President’s Fund that was established in terms of the TRC Act. 

Through these regulations we are giving effect to our longstanding commitment as government to reparations for victims of apartheid, as well as to our obligations under the Constitution to advance the right to human dignity. 

Our Constitution places a clear obligation on the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within available resources, to progressively realise everyone’s right of access to adequate housing.

Our Constitution places housing as a fundamental pillar of human dignity, safety and security.

As of March 2026, the total number of approved listed beneficiaries in Ndwedwe stands at 220.

The symbolic cheques that are being handed over today represent R40 million in cumulative assistance being provided to the verified beneficiaries to build a home or improve their existing homes. 

To respect their safety and privacy, representatives of traditional leaders will be receiving them on behalf of the beneficiaries today. 

A total of 114 approved beneficiaries in Ndwedwe have already been paid out approximately R21 million by the President’s Fund. 

This is a nationwide programme and to date we have received applications from victims across the country.

Government is committed to ensure that this process provides some justice for communities that are still bearing the cost of what happened in our past. 

And that it provides security to the survivors and their descendants.

I would like to thank the community of Ndwedwe for your patience, as well as our traditional and community leaders who have travelled this journey with us. 

We know that it has been a long road. There have been many challenges and difficulties.

I acknowledge the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for the dignified manner in which it has engaged with the communities through the various roadshows and public participation processes. 

Housing is not simply about shelter. It represents stability, dignity and belonging to a community.

As we commemorate 30 years of our Constitution this year, we affirm that our future is built on remembering our past and correcting the injustices that were committed. 

United by one Constitution, inspired by one shared destiny, we recommit to completing the work of nation building that was begun in 1994.

The South African experience has been adapted for truth commissions in a number of other countries. 

The emphasis of the TRC on narrative truth, restorative justice and public participation shaped international thinking on how societies confront and manage political transitions.

Our efforts align with the objectives of the African Union’s Decade of Reparations, which calls on African states and the international community to complete the work of restoration that political liberation began.

This has been further reinforced by the United Nations General Assembly’s landmark resolution of 25 March 2026, that declared the transatlantic trafficking and racialised enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. 

It furthermore affirmed the role of reparations as a necessary step toward remedying historical injustice. 

This resolution echoes the TRC’s central premise: that truth must lead to justice and that justice must include material repair if reconciliation is to be meaningful. 

The handover of these symbolic cheques today affirms our belief that reconciliation and reparations must be concrete and tangible.

As we celebrate 30 years of the Constitution, we are reminded that political liberation was never the final destination. It was the beginning of a longer journey towards social justice. 

The task of building a truly united, just and equal society continues.

We will not rest until all our people can live in peace, in security and in comfort.

I thank you.