THE LAND OWNERSHIP ISSUE IN SOUTH AFRICA - A PLEA FOR HARMONY AND RECONCILIATION

THE LAND TENURE ISSUE IN SOUTH AFRICA

A PLEA FOR HARMONY AND RECONCILIATION

When the majority is hijacked by the minority

Stes de Necker

Like in so many cases throughout the world, where the majority is kept ransom by the minority, the ‘goodwill majority’ of South Africa is kept ransom by a malicious minority.

South Africa is a country where 80% of the population are Christians, professing the doctrine of peace and harmony. Yet when we look at the news on television and read the stories of the press, one would hardly believe that South Africa is a country of peace and good will.

Why?

Why does South Africans always gets portrayed as racist in a country of conflict and animosity along the racial divide.  

The reason is simple.

Because political leaders and the media are manipulating the truth to push forward their political agendas.

Many political leaders and even the news media, would normally rush to interpret all land reform debates and differences on this matter as the result of the previous Nationalist Government’s policy of ‘apartheid’; the ongoing 'blood feud' between black and white.

      

This is misleading and incorrect. While the current dissatisfaction and strife between white and black South Africans over this issue may be substantiated or predictable, it remains absolutely inexcusable.

It is the result of the news media and government's manipulation of our emotions and the lack of knowledge and understanding of the historical developments that, to a large extent, causes the existing animosity.

Politicians and the news media should know the history and stop blaming the previous Nationalist Government as the architects of “apartheid”. Segregation, dividing people on the basis of the colour of their skin, was NOT the creation of the previous National Government.

“Apartheid” has a long history of political purpose and ideology.

Long before Verwoerd was born or when the first mentioning of the word apartheid was ever made, living and working in South Africa was regulated along the colour divide.

The Glen Grey Act of  1894

Glen Grey was the former name for the area around Lady Frere, east of Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

It gave its name to the Glen Grey Act, an 1894 act of the parliament of the Cape Colony, instigated by the government of Prime Minister Cecil John Rhodes, which established a system of individual (rather than communal) land tenure, and created a labour tax to force Xhosa men into employment on commercial farms or in industry.

The act was so named because, although it was later extended to a larger area, it initially applied only in the Glen Grey district which later became part of the Transkei Homeland.

The Act was drafted by Cecil John Rhodes and his secretary Milton and it was geared towards dealing with three main issues: land, labour and the franchise.

The ideas of the Act were rooted in two commissions previously set up by the colonial government- the Cape Commission on Native Laws (1883) and the Glen Grey Commission (1893).

Additionally, the Act was influenced by the views of various colonial administrators in the Transkeian Territories and the Afrikaner Bond all formed the basis of the Glen Grey Act. In essence, Rhodes’ view was that “natives” must be treated differently from the Europeans.

Rhodes claimed his intention through the Act was to “give natives interest in the land, allow the superior minds among them to attend to their local wants, remove the canteens, and give them a stimulus in labour.”

Cecil John Rhodes called the Glen Grey Act the ‘Bill of Africa’ because he envisaged that it would be extended to cover not just the Transkeian territories and any district in the Cape Colony occupied what he called an ‘aboriginal native’, but he ambitiously saw the Act being extended to other British colonies outside South Africa.

When the Glen Grey Act was promulgated, it provided for the division of all unalienated land in the Glen Grey district into locations. The locations were surveyed and divided into portions of about four morgens (3.43 hectares) for each existing occupier and other claimants which were approved by the governor. Land could not be mortgaged and the remaining land was to serve as commonage. 

Alienation and transfer of land was to be approved by the governor. There was to be no subletting or subdivision of the land, the principle of “one man one plot” was to be applied.  Portions of allocated land were to be passed in the family by the law of primogeniture, (where the firstborn male child inherits the property). Land could be forfeited if the person granted the land failed to pay the cost of survey or quitrent per year and for rebellion.

Each location established by the Act was placed under the control of a board of three people from resident landholders appointed by the governor. The board dealt with issues such as overstocking of livestock and commonages.  The government levied an annual tax of 5 Shillings on every land holder and 10 Shillings on every male adult living in the district judged by the magistrate to be fit for labour to finance it activities. However, those who worked outside the district for 3 months or more were exempt from tax for that year. Rhodes rejected the idea of making more land available to the Africans as a solution to what he viewed as a problem of an increasing African population. 

As Edgecombe notes, “The main purpose of the land provision was to fix the existing population to the land. Any increase would subsequently have to go out and work.”

This Act later served as the ‘benchmark’ of African land-holding for subsequent land allocation Laws in South Africa. 

The Natives Land Act (No: 27 of 1913)

The most important piece of legislation passed by the (then) Government of South Africa, was the promulgation of the Natives Land Act (No: 27) on 19 June 1913.

This act had a profound effect on the African population across the country. It also laid down the foundation for other legislation which further entrenched dispossession of African people and segregation later of Coloured and Indian people.

The Act defined a “native” as “any person, male or female, who is a member of an aboriginal race or tribe of Africa; and shall further include any company or other body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, if the persons who have a controlling interest therein are natives.”

Evidently, this affected millions of Africans. The Act’s most catastrophic provision for Africans was the prohibition from buying or hiring land in 93% of South Africa. In essence, Africans despite being more in number were confined to ownership of 7% South Africa’s land. This was increased to 13.5% by the Native and Land Trust Act which was passed in 1936.

Section 1, sub section ‘a’ of the 1913 Natives Land Act states, “a native shall not enter into any agreement or transaction for the purchase, hire, or other acquisition from a person other than a native, of any such land or of any right thereto, interest therein, or servitude thereover.” However, Africans were permitted to buy and sell land in reserves or scheduled areas while Whites were prohibited from owning land in these places as the Act stated:

“A person other than a native shall not enter into any agreement or transaction for the purchase, hire, or other acquisition from a native of any such land or of any right thereto, interest therein, or servitude there over.”

The Act also included anti-squatting provisions to stop share cropping and also defined the boundaries of reserves which were referred to as scheduled areas.

Harvey Feinberg and Andre Horn state that “scheduled areas encompassed land which Africans had acquired by grant from the South African Republic of Orange Free State government, previously created locations or reserves, land owned under the informal and formal trusteeship system which emerged in the nineteenth century in the Transvaal, and land purchased in the Cape and Natal.”

Loosely defined a squatter was a “native” tenant who paid for his tenancy using money or sharing part of his produce with the farmer.  Consequently, the effect of the Land Act was “to eliminate black tenants and to replace them in white areas by black servants or labourers who would no longer be allowed to lease land in white areas.”

Marleen Flemmer points out that the Act was passed to alleviate the problem of poor white farm labourers who were competing for employment in farms with black labourers, especially “native” tenant farmers.

Pressure to introduce such legislation came more especially from the Transvaal and the Orange Free State where the aforementioned issue was a problem. According to Patricia Gratten Dickson, “The Native Land Act was also a measure designed to protect whites not only the rich white farmers who were assured of the lion’s share of available land, but the landless by owners who thereafter assured of work on farms of others, and the urban poor whites who could no longer be forced to compete with skilled or semi skilled natives.” Thus, the Act went beyond just dispossessing people of their land, it closed avenues of livelihood for Africans other than to work for white farmers and industrialists. 

It is important to note that the Land Act was passed before a decision was made on which land was to be allocated or reserved for black people, and which land was to be allocated to white people.

Until this was resolved, the government maintained the status quo by prohibiting blacks from obtaining land outside the so called “scheduled areas.” Thus, a clause in the Act to establish a commission which would look into the issue of finding land for black and whites was an attempt by the government to implement the Act.

As a consequence, the Native Land Commission (NLC) was established.

The Native Land Commission (Beaumont Commission)

The Native Land Commission was proclaimed in August 1913.

Sir William Beaumont, a former administrator in Natal and Supreme Court judge, was appointed as its head. The commission, which also became known as the Beaumont Commission, began its work on 8 September 1913.  

The commission was granted two years to accomplish its work and submit a report which would then be used to demarcate land. It was tasked with investigating the availability of land and defining boundaries for permanent territorial segregation between black and white people. The two basic questions were:

1. “What areas within the Union of South Africa should lie set apart as areas with which Natives shall not be permitted to acquire or hire land or interests in land?”

2. “What areas within the Union of South Africa should be set apart as areas within which persons other than Natives shall not be permitted to acquire or hire land or interests in land?”

In simple, the primary purpose of the Commission in answering these questions was to find land within South Africa and divide it between Black and White people with legal boundaries to regulate its ownership. Between 1913 and the submission of its report in March 1916, the Beaumont Commission went around the country outlining boundaries and recommending which areas were to be allocated to White people and which one were to be allocated to Black people.

When the commission filed its findings, it recommended a limited increase in African areas. 

However the final decision was left to each province of the Union. All provinces except the Cape reduced area originally recommended by the committee. However, this was not implemented until 1936.

During the Commission’s work, racial prejudice which presumed White people’s superiority over Black people became evident.

For instance, the commissioner notes the Europeans who lived in Kwelera-Maoiplaats were “sadly lacking in much that proves the superiority of the white over the black.”

Subsequently, he recommended the area for Native occupation because it was a “poor soil with a steep and sour pasturage of so limited extent”.

“Only a Kaffir (black person), with his limited requirements could be expected to exist upon such terms.” He adds that in assessing the area’s suitability for settlement, he did not consult the “natives” in case they became “aggressive and annoying to their European neighbours.”

Source: (Report of the Land Commissioner, Vol. 1, Appendix VIII).

The impact of the Land Act

Perhaps the most visible impact of the Act was that it denied Africans access to land which they owned or had been leasing from White famers.

Sol Plaatje wrote, “As a result of the passing of the Natives Land Act groups of natives are to be seen in the different Provinces seeking for new land. They have crossed over from the Free State into Natal, from Natal into the Transvaal, and from the Transvaal into British Bechuanaland” (Native Life in South Africa, p.99).

Evidently, the Act seized the very asset which was central to lives of African people and rendered them destitute.   

The Act also “minimized competition by denying blacks the right to purchase land and the opportunity to become shareholders on white owned land.” In essence, the Land Act marked the end of the limited independence which African farmers had on White-owned land. In spite of the Land Act, sharecropping and labour tenancy continued. This was because of the long delay in its implementation and because White landlords who wanted to keep sharecroppers or rent tenants found ways of getting round the law.

Meanwhile African farm workers struggled to hold on to a land of their own, no matter how small the piece. Thus, the impact of the Land Act to black people was profound.

It dispossessed and locked black people in servitude. As Solomon Plaatjie wrote, ““The section of the law debarring Natives from hiring land is particularly harsh. It has been explained that its major portion is intended to reduce Natives to serfs” (Native Life in South Africa, p.100).

African people forced to move to the reserves often could not find enough fertile land to use for crops

Immediately after the passing of the Land Act, White farmers began issuing notices of eviction to Black people. R.W. Msimang documented some of these notices in his book Natives Land Act 1913, Specific Cases of Evictions and Hardships etc. The position of African farmers was weakened further when the government began to offer low-interest loans to White farmers. These loans enabled White farmers to make improvements to their farms and buy agricultural machinery. They could now farm directly on land which had previously been allocated to sharecroppers. By 1936, nearly half of the African workers in towns had migrated from White farms.

African farmers who owned land inside and outside the reserves did not receive any aid from the government in the form of loans. They therefore found it increasingly difficult to compete with White farmers who could use improved methods and expand their farms.

Lastly, the Act laid down the foundation for separate development through the development of Bantustans, or Homelands.

Obviously the Natives Land Act sparked fierce opposition particularly by Black African people.

While the Act was still a Bill in parliament on 21 March 1913, John L Dube, President of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), published an article “Wrong Policy” in the newspaper ILanga Lase Natal.

He criticised the Native Land Bill and stated that it was intended to keep Africans down, to tell them “Get out, 'Foutsek' (sic), to go back to your locations, or else go back to work for your white masters.”

The Native Land Act was the first stage in drawing a permanent line between Africans and non Africans.”

In essence, the Land Act became a critical edifice in the construction of a racially and spatially divided South Africa. Subsequent Acts such as The Native Trust and Land Act 18 of 1936, the Urban Areas Act (1923), Natives and Land Trust Act (1936) and the Group Areas Act (1950) reinforced the land dispossession and segregation in South Africa.

The Native Trust and Land Act 18 of 1936 

The Native Trust and Land Act made provision for the establishment of the South African Native Trust, a state agency to administer trust land, and "to be administered for the settlement, support, benefit, and material welfare of the natives of the Union".

The Act abolished individual land ownership by black people and introduced trust tenure through the creation of the South African Development Trust, which was a government body responsible for purchasing land in "released areas" for black settlement. 

In terms of section 2(1) of the Act, certain areas of land (including land identified in the Natives Land Act) were transferred to the Native Trust to be administered by the Trust. Vested in the Trust was land reserved for the occupation of natives and land within the scheduled native areas as identified in the Natives Land Act.

The South African Native Trust Fund was created and the funds utilized to acquire and develop land of the Trust, to advance the interest of natives in scheduled native areas, and to generally assist and develop the "material, moral and social well-being of natives" residing on Trust land.

The Act further empowered the Trust to acquire land for native settlement, but limited the amount of land that could be acquired in this regard to approximately 13% of the total land. The land which could be acquired by the Trust was further limited to land within the scheduled native areas or within released areas.

The Act created "reserves" for black people and increased the 8% of land reserved by the Natives Land Act to 13%, confining 80% of the population to this area. In order to achieve the objectives of the Act, section 13 empowered the trustees of the Trust to expropriate land owned by natives outside a scheduled area for reasons of public health or for any other reason which would promote public welfare or be in the public interest. Compensation paid upon expropriation was determined by the fair market value of the land without any improvements, plus the value of the necessary or useful improvements; plus the value of luxurious improvements (limited to the actual cost of such improvements) plus a sum compensating for inconvenience.

It is obvious that the Native Trust and Land Act was an important instrument used by the then government to facilitate its policy of racial segregation. The Act stripped black South Africans of their right to own land or even to live outside demarcated areas without proper authorization by the relevant authorities. It is clear that this Act furthered the objective of racial segregation, which eventually necessitated the need for land reform. 

The shadow of the Natives Land Act and other legislations that followed are even still evident in the post Apartheid South Africa. A significant proportion of arable land remains in the ownership of white farmers.

All subsequent measures instituted by the current South African Government, dealing with land redistribution and land claims, are all attempts to deal with a legacy of systematic dispossession of land in South Africa. 

Apartheid under national Party rule

What makes South Africa's apartheid era so different to segregation and racial hatred that have occurred in many other countries, is the systematic way in which the National Party, which came into power in 1948, formalised and enacted the principles of segregation.   

What the Nationalist Government in South Africa did, starting in 1948, was to define and enforce the principles and objectives that were already entrenched in pre-1948 'apartheid' legislation. 

The main laws are described below:

Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 of 1949
Prohibited marriages between white people and people of other races. Between 1946 and the enactment of this law, only 75 mixed marriages had been recorded, compared with some 28,000 white marriages.

Immorality Amendment Act, Act No 21 of 1950; amended in 1957 (Act 23)
Prohibited adultery, attempted adultery or related immoral acts (extra-marital sex) between white and black people.

Population Registration Act, Act No 30 of 1950
Led to the creation of a national register in which every person's race was recorded. A Race Classification Board took the final decision on what a person's race was in disputed cases.

Group Areas Act, Act No 41 of 1950
Forced physical separation between races by creating different residential areas for different races. Led to forced removals of people living in "wrong" areas, for example Coloureds living in District Six in Cape Town.

Suppression of Communism Act, Act No 44 of 1950
Outlawed communism and the Community Party in South Africa. Communism was defined so broadly that it covered any call for radical change. Communists could be banned from participating in a political organisation and restricted to a particular area.

Bantu Building Workers Act, Act No 27 of 1951
Allowed black people to be trained as artisans in the building trade, something previously reserved for whites only, but they had to work within an area designated for blacks. Made it a criminal offence for a black person to perform any skilled work in urban areas except in those sections designated for black occupation.

Separate Representation of Voters Act, Act No 46 of 1951
Together with the 1956 amendment, this act led to the removal of Coloureds from the common voters' roll.

Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act, Act No 52 of 1951
Gave the Minister of Native Affairs the power to remove blacks from public or privately owned land and to establishment resettlement camps to house these displaced people.

Bantu Authorities Act, Act No 68 of 1951
Provided for the establishment of black homelands and regional authorities and, with the aim of creating greater self-government in the homelands, abolished the Native Representative Council.

Natives Laws Amendment Act of 1952
Narrowed the definition of the category of blacks who had the right of permanent residence in towns. Section 10 limited this to those who'd been born in a town and had lived there continuously for not less than 15 years, or who had been employed there continuously for at least 15 years, or who had worked continuously for the same employer for at least 10 years.

Natives (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act, Act No 67 of 1952
Commonly known as the Pass Laws, this ironically named act forced black people to carry identification with them at all times. A pass included a photograph, details of place of origin, employment record, tax payments, and encounters with the police. It was a criminal offence to be unable to produce a pass when required to do so by the police. No black person could leave a rural area for an urban one without a permit from the local authorities. On arrival in an urban area a permit to seek work had to be obtained within 72 hours.

Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act of 1953
Prohibited strike action by blacks.

Bantu Education Act, Act No 47 of 1953
Established a Black Education Department in the Department of Native Affairs which would compile a curriculum that suited the "nature and requirements of the black people". The author of the legislation, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd (then Minister of Native Affairs, later Prime Minister), stated that its aim was to prevent Africans receiving an education that would lead them to aspire to positions they wouldn't be allowed to hold in society. Instead Africans were to receive an education designed to provide them with skills to serve their own people in the homelands or to work in labouring jobs under whites.

Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, Act No 49 of 1953
Forced segregation in all public amenities, public buildings, and public transport with the aim of eliminating contact between whites and other races. "Europeans Only" and "Non-Europeans Only" signs were put up. The act stated that facilities provided for different races need not be equal.

Natives Resettlement Act, Act No 19 of 1954

Group Areas Development Act, Act No 69 of 1955

Natives (Prohibition of Interdicts) Act, Act No 64 of 1956
Denied black people the option of appealing to the courts against forced removals.

Bantu Investment Corporation Act, Act No 34 of 1959
Provided for the creation of financial, commercial, and industrial schemes in areas designated for black people.

Extension of University Education Act, Act 45 of 1959
Put an end to black students attending white universities (mainly the universities of Cape Town and Witwatersrand). Created separate tertiary institutions for whites, Coloured, blacks, and Asians.

Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, Act No 46 of 1959
Classified black people into eight ethnic groups. Each group had a Commissioner-General who was tasked to develop a homeland for each, which would be allowed to govern itself independently without white intervention.

Coloured Persons Communal Reserves Act, Act No 3 of 1961

Preservation of Coloured Areas Act, Act No 31 of 1961

Urban Bantu Councils Act, Act No 79 of 1961
Created black councils in urban areas that were supposed to be tied to the authorities running the related ethnic homeland.

Terrorism Act of 1967
Allowed for indefinite detention without trial and established BOSS, the Bureau of State Security, which was responsible for the internal security of South Africa.

Bantu Homelands Citizens Act of 1970
Compelled all black people to become a citizen of the homeland that responded to their ethnic group, regardless of whether they'd ever lived there or not, and removed their South African citizenship.

Until such time that we can wipe out the legacy of the past, peaceful coexistence in South Africa will remain a pipedream.