Forced moving “never” will perpetrate again: President Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasized that the deep historical wounds caused by the Racist Earth’s Land Law of the Apartheid era are the reason why the South African democratic government “will never allow forced removals to return to forced moving “

President Ramaphosa was responding to the discourse of the State of the Nation (SOUND) held on Tuesday and Wednesday that many speakers based their comments on the question of the earth.

In January of this year, President Ramaphosa promulgated the expropriation law 13 of 2024, which establishes that property cannot be arbitrarily expropriated or for a purpose that is not a public or public interest and subject to fair and equitable compensation .

“Several of the speakers during this debate talked about the question of the Earth, which in the past I said that it was the original sin that was committed against the people of our country.

“When describing the Native Land Law of 1913, Solomon T Plaatje described the Native Land Law of 1913 as” an insidious law that made black South African pariahs in the land of their birth. “It is this law of native lands that He added millions of people in poverty and deprivation, whose impact lasts until today, ”said the president in response to the debate on Thursday.

About 57 years ago in Cabo Cabo, the Apartheid government perpetrated what President Ramaphosa described as one of the “most painful chapters in the history of this country.”

At that time, the apartheid government demolished district six to give way to a “suburb for whites” with about 60,000 people withdrawn by the force of their homes as a result.

“In the course of two decades, the Apartheid regime forcefully eliminated more than 3.5 million people in the Six, Sophiatown, Marabastad, Cato Manor, Kroonstad, Nelspruit and many other other places throughout the country. It was one of the greatest massive of people in modern history.

“Today there are some in this house that have memories of their families that are eliminated by the force of their land. There are more millions throughout the country that still experience the effects of this monstrous crime.

“The people of this country know the pain of forced removals. That is why we will never allow forced removals again, ”he explained.

President Ramaphosa emphasized that the tragic forced removals of the Apartheid government are part of the reason why the Constitution now:
• Prohibits arbitrary deprivation of property; and
• It requires that fair and equitable compensation be paid in case of expropriation for a public purpose or in public interest

“Our experience of forced moving also explains the constitutional requirement that the State must take reasonable measures, within its available resources, to promote conditions that allow citizens to obtain access to the Earth equally.

“Today, District Six sounds with the sounds of families that have been returned to the land that was removed. However, as the transformation of our society, the restitution process is not complete. There is still a lot to do to heal the divisions of the past, ”he said.

The president reflected on the continuous, “long and hard” path to build a nation free of shackles of institutionalized racism and “united in his diversity.”

“We are firmly committed to the fundamental principle that South Africa belongs to all those who live in it.

“We are firmly committed to a society that is not racial and not sexist. We want to live together in peace, harmony and equality. We want to see our country succeed and grow. We must not allow others to define or divide us, ”he said. – Sanows.gov.za