Transkei Constitution Act

The Transkei Constitution Act ( Act No. 48/1963 ) is a law that fundamentally shaped the homeland politics of South Africa . It was decided by the parliament of the Republic of South Africa to convert the areas of the Transkei with their previous status as a reserve into a territory of "self-administration". The Transkei Constitution Act was part of South African apartheid legislation . In this way, the Transkei served as a model for the intended independence of further homelands.

Preconditions

With the Bantu Authorities Act ( Act No. 68/1951 ) (German about: "Bantu authorities law") was in recourse to the Natives Administration Act of 1927 (German about: "native administrative law") the self-government function of the native reservations under Reference to supposedly traditional tribal structures strengthened. In practice, however, politics based on the principle of indirect rule, taking advantage of the reputation and influence of the chiefs who were used for this purpose, gained significant importance.

The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act ( Act No. 46/1959 ) created a hierarchical structure of local authorities for the mostly rural residential areas of the black population in the reservations, which after Guidelines and under control from Pretoria levied taxes, could control the award of public contracts and issued quota licenses and trade certificates. On the basis of this law, the government appointed eight plenipotentiaries for the same number of reserves designated for “self-government”. In the exercise of their duties they were subordinate to the Ministry of Bantu Administration, Development and Education and carried out the development projects conceived there.

Regional scope

With the Transkei Constitution Act , the self-government administration created by this law was subject to an area of 3.2 percent of the total area of South Africa. The region known as Transkei comprised areas of the former British Kaffraria between the former province of Natal and the original Cape Colony .

The provisions of the Transkei Constitution Act exempted defined areas with white populations, such as neighborhoods, cities or farm areas. This special arrangement affected the districts of Elliot and Maclear and Mount Currie (near Kokstad ), as well as areas in the districts of Matatiele and Umzimkulu and the enclave of Port St. Johns .

Constitutional structure and responsibilities

Legislative Assembly

With the Transkei Constitution Act , a new, parliament-like representation emerged in the homeland , which had some of the characteristics of its predecessor, the so-called Bunga of the Transkeian Territories . The significant difference between the two bodies was the numerical ratio between the elected and the ex-officio members. In the Bunga , the popularly elected members had a normative majority, but not in the new Legislative Assembly.

The as Legislative Assembly ( legislative assembly called) Panel in Homeland Transkei consisted of 109 members, but was composed by the way of their membership of two groups. There were 45 elected members on the one hand and 64 ex-officio members on the other. The latter group was made up of chiefs, whose appointment as ex-officio members and their dismissal were made by the President of South Africa. The elected 45 members were legitimized in 26 voting districts of the Transkei by the residents with the right to vote. Anyone over the age of 21 who had not been sentenced to imprisonment (with no option to pay a fine) had this right to vote. Taxpayers between the ages of 18 and 21 were also eligible to vote.

The Legislative Assembly had narrow responsibilities for overseeing developments in the finance, education, justice, home affairs, agriculture, forestry and road sectors.

The South African government was responsible for immigration, national defense, currency, banks and customs, international relations, internal security, health, and the postal and railway systems. In 1972, the Transkei government was given additional responsibilities for issuing driver's licenses and car permits, public transport (excluding railways), prisons, control of public events, healthcare and tourism. The transfer of the responsibilities of its own police authority was planned at this time by the white government in Pretoria.

government

The government of the Transkei Authority was led by the Chief Minister of Transkei and elected by secret ballot in the Legislative Assembly. He also acted as Minister of Finance. The other cabinet departments were agriculture and forestry, home affairs, justice, road and housing construction, and education.

The government of the Transkei had no state sovereignty, but acted autonomously within the defined scope of this law. Overall, however, it was a partial autonomy without overall regional responsibility of the Transkei authorities. The removal of a minister could only be initiated with a reasoned request from the Chief Minister of Homelands to the President of the Republic of South Africa.

Subjective affiliation

According to the regulations of the Transkei Constitution Act , only those persons were “citizens” of the Transkei who were born on its territory or who had been legally resident there for five years before the law came into force. Furthermore, all people living outside the Transkei were counted among their “citizens” who belonged to a local tribe (member or descendant of tribal families).

Legislative follow-up developments

Bantu Homelands Citizen Act ( Act No. 26/1970 ) of the Republic of South Africa, made preparatory stipulations so that in future every “black” person living in South Africa becomes a citizen in a homeland.
Bantu Homelands Constitution Act ( Act No. 21/1971 ) (German roughly: "Bantu Homeland Establishment Act") of the Republic of South Africa, determined the phases for achieving the formal "independence" of previous homelands.
The Legislative Assembly of the Transkei passed a resolution in March 1974 to request the government of South Africa to grant full state sovereignty.
Republic of Transkei Constitution Act ( Act No. 15/1975 ) (German roughly: "Republic-Transkei-Verfassungsgesetz") of the Republic of South Africa.

literature

Christoph Sodemann: The laws of apartheid . Bonn, Informationsstelle Südliches Afrika eV, 1986, ISBN 3-921614-15-5 .
Gottfried Wellmer: South Africa's Bantustans. History, ideology and reality . Bonn, Informationsstelle Südliches Afrika eV, 1976, pp. 46–57, ISBN 3-921614-29-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ 1959. Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act No 46 . on www. nelsonmandela.org.
^ South African Institute of Race Relations : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1972 . Johannesburg, Vol. 26 (1973), p. 34 ISBN 0-86982-040-0 .
↑ Wellmer, 1976, p. 53.

[1] 1959. Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act No 46 . on www. nelsonmandela.org.

[2] South African Institute of Race Relations : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1972 . Johannesburg, Vol. 26 (1973), p. 34 ISBN 0-86982-040-0 .

[3] Wellmer, 1976, p. 53.