Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa said true reconciliation was not only about social cohesion, but also about political and economic transformation.
Ramaphosa released a statement to mark the National Day of Reconciliation and echoed the SA Reconciliation Barometer (SARB) Survey 2019, published last week by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, when he said: “The South Africa of today still suffers from the effects of centuries of discrimination, dispossession and unequal development.
“We must address the unfinished business of our democratic transition. We must close the festering wound of inequality that exists between our people. We must forge ahead with land reform and social development. We must continue to transform our workplaces and restructure our economy so it benefits all.”
Ramaphosa, who was in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal, said: “It says much about our country that this day, December 16, marks two events in our history that are enduring symbols of conflict and resistance. We commemorate the epic battle of 1838 on the banks of the Ncome River, and the founding of Umkhonto we Sizwe on the same day over a century later. These two historical events are of deep significance; and now symbolic of our ability to transcend a bitter legacy and forge a new path.
“As we take stock of how far we have come in healing the divisions of the past and building a united nation, we have much to be proud of.”
People from various religious backgrounds joined hands at the District 6 Reconciliation Day Interfaith Walk where they visited numerous places of worship. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)
People from various religious backgrounds joined hands at the District 6 Reconciliation Day Interfaith Walk where they visited numerous places of worship. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)
People from various religious backgrounds joined hands at the District 6 Reconciliation Day Interfaith Walk where they visited numerous places of worship. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)
People from various religious backgrounds joined hands at the District 6 Reconciliation Day Interfaith Walk where they visited numerous places of worship. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)
The SARB found that between 2003 and 2017 there had been a drop in acknowledgement levels about the unjust nature of the apartheid system among South Africans.
While 87% of respondents in 2003 agreed that apartheid was a crime against humanity, only 77% felt the same way in 2017.
Elnari Potgieter, lead author of the SARB, said: “Some of the major themes that arose from key indicators in the report include safety and violence, democratic political culture and socio-economic circumstances and social justice.”
According to the survey, now in it’s 16th edition: “Most South Africans agree that reconciliation is impossible as long as corruption continues in our country (84%); political parties sow division (74%); those who were affected by apartheid continue to be poor (73%);; we continue to use racial categories to measure transformation (73%); and racism remains unaddressed in our society (66%).”
Meanwhile, hundreds of people took part in an Interfaith Walk through District Six in Cape Town to mark Reconciliation Day. Various religious groups visited places of worship in Cape Town, which offered participants a unique opportunity to walk in solidarity with those who were dispossessed in the past and long for justice and restitution today.
People from various religious backgrounds joined hands at the District Six Reconciliation Day Interfaith Walk and visited numerous places of worship. Video: Armand Hough/African News Agency (ANA)
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