Wamkelekile, Welkom
Report back on the meeting of the IRTC Steering Committee
01 September 2017 | Sipho Pityana
The Chair of the IRTC Steering Committee writes about the committee's meeting of 24 August 2017.
Dear members of the UCT community
The Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC) Steering Committee met on Thursday, 24 August 2017. Before the meeting, an online poll was held in which each constituency was asked to indicate their views on each of the 18 people who had been nominated and had agreed to make themselves available to be commissioners. The results of the poll were to form the basis of discussion at the steering committee meeting as to who to recommend to Council as the five commissioners.
Unfortunately, we found that four of the constituencies did not participate in the online poll. The steering committee felt uncomfortable going ahead without receiving their input and without addressing any difficulties that these constituencies might have had in participating in the poll. We have therefore agreed to hold a second poll, and to postpone the steering committee meeting until this has been done. We have also agreed that the secretariat will ascertain what prevented the participation of the four constituencies and assist as appropriate.
The new online poll will close on Wednesday, 6 September, and the steering committee will meet soon afterwards.
Sipho M Pityana
Chair of the IRTC Steering Committee (and Chair of UCT Council)
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Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC)
The Institutional Reconciliation and Transformation Commission (IRTC) Steering Committee was established as a result of a period of unprecedented tension at the University of Cape Town (UCT) at the end of 2016. The creation of the multi-stakeholder steering committee that will oversee the proposed IRTC was one of the resolutions made in the 6 November 2016 agreement, which effectively brought the waves of continuing protest at the university to a halt.
The agreement, which was signed between the UCT executive and protesting student groups, paved the way for the establishment of the IRTC, whose aims are to
- consider all Shackville-related protests of 2016, including disciplinary procedures and interdicts
- invite submissions from all constituencies on clemencies that were granted and decide whether clemency should be turned into amnesty
- make recommendations on how the university should deal with pending cases and other such matters in the future
- make recommendations on institutional culture, transformation, decolonisation, discrimination, identity, disability and any other matters that the university community has raised over the past 18 months, or may wish to raise in the future.
The IRTC’s objective is to map an inclusive and fair course for the university as it tackles the legacy of the so-called Shackville protests and to focus on the issues that have caused division on our university campus.
Read IRTC documents:
- Read the 6 November agreement
- Read the declaration by students seeking clemency
- Read the FAQ about the agreement
- Read the criteria and process for nominating commissioners - List of Steering Committee Members
- Names of the IRTC Steering Committee members
- Email addresses of the IRTC Steering Committee members
- See the announcement of the IRTC Commissioners
- IRTC Final Report
A summary and analysis of the Terms of Reference are given in Chapter 2, starting on page 7
Feedback and responses to the IRTC report:
IRTC Final Report
Statements by the IRTC
Latest news
Reports from the Steering Committee Chair
2018 IRTC Steering Committee meetings
2017 IRTC Steering Committee meetings