Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act
The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act , Act No 46/1959 ( Afrikaans : Wet op die Bevordering van Bantoe-selfbestuur ; German for example: "Law for the promotion of Bantu self-government") from 1959 was a law of apartheid policy in South Africa which initiated the conversion of previous reservations into homelands with a certain degree of self-government .
prehistory
This law is a legislative follow-up to the Bantu Authorities Act of 1951.
Purpose and goals
By means of this law, the South African government divided the black population into so-called National Units (German for example: nationality groups) and assigned them to the homelands provided for this purpose on the basis of a prescribed home law . Initially there were eight National Units , which were later supplemented by another, from which ten homelands (for Xhosa two homelands: Ciskei and Transkei ) emerged.
With this legislative step, indirect representation of the black population by white representatives in the parliament of the South African Union was ended. As a result of this fundamental change, the black population, regardless of their immediate whereabouts, was only entitled to political rights in the homelands assigned to them. To safeguard “white” interests in these areas, five Commissioners-General have been appointed on the basis of this law by Governor-General Charles Robberts Swart . It was incumbent on them to develop the areas “under” them according to the ideas of the central government in Pretoria , taking into account the self-government powers.
The administrative development carried out with this law also provided that taxes could be levied by the regional authorities in accordance with the South African government and that self-government activities would progress gradually. There were narrow limits to the autonomy granted. The actual control was carried out by the South African Development Trust and by the Department of Bantu Administration , which granted the funds for development tasks in detail. In addition to the homeland authorities, so-called technical committees existed as parallel administrative units of the Bantu administration for the effective control of the “white” supervisory function . In 1971, for example, there were 50 administrative units in the ministry.
In order to obtain the right to self-government in the homelands, the "white" parliament in Pretoria passed its own laws relating to the respective territory. These are collectively referred to as the Homeland Self Government Acts . The upper administrative authorities, the Territorial Authorities , were converted into legislative bodies ( Legislative Assemblies ) with ex-officio and elected members. The latter were always represented in a numerical minority.
Commissioners-General
In June 1960 the following were appointed:
- Werner Willi Max Eiselen , for the group of North Sotho , with administrative headquarters in Turfloop , a former State Secretary in the Bantu Administration Ministry ,
- SF Papenfus, for the group of South Sotho with administrative headquarters in Witzieshoek , a former member of parliament (WK Harrismith) and member of the Native Affairs Commission ,
- IS Kloppers, for the Tswana group with administrative headquarters in Mafeking , a former senator,
- CG Nel, for the Zulu and Swazi group headquartered in Nongoma , a former senator,
- JH Abraham, a former member of parliament (WK Groblersdale) , for the Xhosa group with administrative headquarters in Umtata .
Corresponding laws to the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act
- Bantu Authorities Act 1951; to set up specific administrative units in the homelands
- Bantu Homelands Citizen Act (1970); for the expatriation of black South Africans by automatically revoking their South African citizenship
- Bantu Homelands Constitution Act ( Act No. 21/1971 ); to set up independent government structures in the homelands
literature
- Christoph Sodemann: The laws of apartheid . Bonn 1986, ISBN 3-921614-15-5 .
- Manfred Kurz: Indirect Rule and Violence in South Africa . Works from the Institute for Africa Customer, No. 30. Hamburg (Institute for Africa Customer) 1981.
- Andrea Lang: Separate Development and the Department of Bantu. Administration in South Africa - history and analysis of special administration for blacks . Work from the institute for Africa customer. Vol. 103. Ed. Verbund Stiftung Deutsches Übersee-Institut. Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-928049-58-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Manfred Kurz, p. 44
- ↑ Christoph Sodemann, p. 218
- ↑ Manfred Kurz, p. 45
- ↑ Segregationist Legislation Timeline 1950-1959: The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959. on www.sahistory.org.za (English)
- ↑ Andrea Lang, pp. 82, 85
- ↑ Andrea Lang, p. 85, quoted from: anonymous: "Self Rule in Progress". In: Bantu 7/1971 , p. 24
- ↑ Andrea Lang, pp. 84-85
- ^ SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1959-1960 . Johannesburg 1961, p. 107