Statement of Council on the Report of the Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC)
1 July 2019
The IRTC which published its report earlier in the year, has now concluded its important and historic task. Council, on behalf of the university community, would like to express its sincere gratitude to the IRTC Commissioners – Dr Mosibudi Mangena, Judge Zak Yacoob, Dr Yvette Abrahams, Dr Malose Langa, and Ms Yasmin Sooka – for making themselves available and for their willingness to grapple with a very complex set of issues during a very contentious time in the history of the university.
The UCT Council is similarly grateful to the IRTC Steering Committee which was made up of representatives from 16 different UCT constituencies. They put an immense amount of time and effort into the process and, while meetings were often challenging, the Steering Committee nevertheless remained committed to the process.
Council would also like to express its appreciation to the previous executive of UCT under Dr Max Price for the courageous step of enabling the university to hold a mirror to itself, even when they knew it carried the risk of raising uncomfortable truths that we would all have to deal with. The mixed reactions to the report must be read in this context.
On Saturday, 22 June, Council in considering the IRTC report was assisted by recommendations of the IRTC Steering Committee. Council also welcomed the advice of the Vice-Chancellor and her executive on how the university should take forward the work of the IRTC and its recommendations.