Housing is not only about shelter, it represents stability, dignity and belonging to a community, President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) housing reparations launch ceremony on Tuesday, where he handed over symbolic cheques, representing R40-million in cumulative assistance being provided to verified beneficiaries.

In handing out the once-off cheques, which beneficiaries can use to build a home or improve their existing homes, Ramaphosa said government was marking the implementation of regulations that allow victims of apartheid-era atrocities, identified through the TRC process, to receive housing assistance from the State.

“The handover of these symbolic cheques today affirms our belief that reconciliation and reparations must be concrete and tangible,” he stated.

Speaking in KwaZulu-Natal, Ramaphosa noted that as of March, the total number of approved listed beneficiaries in Ndwedwe, north of Durban, was 220.

He said 114 approved beneficiaries in Ndwedwe had already been paid out about R21-million by the President’s Fund, which was established in terms of the TRC Act.

Ramaphosa highlighted that to respect the safety and privacy of beneficiaries, representatives of traditional leaders would be receiving the cheques on their behalf.

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

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

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

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

The final report of the TRC made several recommendations to the President on possible measures that could be taken to restore the dignity of victims.

These measures included one-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.

Ramaphosa pointed out that the housing assistance regulations published in January flowed directly from these recommendations.