No reconciliation without land returned

AFTER the fall of apartheid, Nelson Mandela appointed the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC), tasked to bring reconciliation and peace among South Africans after the atrocities of apartheid.

The committee’s effectiveness is debatable, as it was under a lot of pressure and it did not have enough time to deal with this matter of reconciliation – as a result there were too many compromises made.

To show that the TRC dismally failed to achieve its objective of ensuring reconciliation among South Africans is that today in South Africa there is too much tension between black and white people, tension that has been present for quite some time.

It has been ignored for almost 24 years, hence in this so-called democratic South Africa there is a serious problem of racism.

Here are some reasons why there is still so much tension:

First, during the negotiations black people were compromised in the primary issue of the struggle, the land issue, hence the expropriation of land without compensation has played a major role in delaying reconciliation.

Black people have been frustrated, asking themselves, “What was the point of our struggle if we still do not get our land that was taken from our forefathers during the period of colonisation and apartheid?”

Second, the economy of the country is still in the hands of the white minority, there is no equal distribution of the economy and no equal opportunities in the economy, hence on the JSE there are less than 10% black-owned businesses.

If South Africa really wants reconciliation then there must be honesty and no compromise.

The land that was forcefully taken from black people during the colonisation and apartheid eras must be expropriated without compensation because there is no way in which the atrocities of the past can be compensated.

In the economy there must be equal distribution of the wealth of the country, the economy must not be in the hands of the minority.

All South Africans, both black and white, must have equal access to the economy of the country.

As things stands there is no reconciliation in South Africa without the land.

Menzi Shongwe, Nelson Mandela University student