THE ANATOMY OF APARTHEID
by FRANZ J. T. LEE
Article in “Africa and the World”, No 5, February 1965
Franz
Lee was born in 1938 of very poor „Coloured“ parents. His youth was spent among
African peasant workers in the Transkei reserve, where he attended a primary
Mission school, working occasionally on white farms and in factories to finance
his studies. In 1959 he matriculated after a correspondence course, at the same
time becoming active in the local liberation movements. He enrolled at the
external university of South Africa, Pretoria, for a B.A.‑LL.B. degree in
law and philosophy. In October, 1962, he was awarded a German special
scholarship to the University of Tubingen where he is at present studying for a Ph.D. in philosophy. He is an
active member of the „South African Students’ Union in Germany“ which unites
all South African students irrespective of race, colour, creed or
organisational orientation or convictions.
From
the publicity, one could conclude that in the West no struggle of an oppressed people receives so much sympathy
as the non‑white liberation movement in the Republic of South Africa.
The
West German press, for example, is surprisingly unanimous in its condemnation
of the barbaric „apartheid“ policy of the Afrikaander nationalists.
And
yet the sympathy is nowhere so insincere as in this case. The press
persistently conceals the consequences that would result from abolishment of
the apartheid system. The racial discrimination policy is intended to secure
more than the political predominance of the white „Herrenvolk“ ‑ the
supporters and members of Verwoerd’s Nationalist party.
Economically
Basic
It
is the indispensable basis for the slave system of the white farmers and the
phenomenal profits of mining and other foreign ‑ or English ‑
controlled industries. Only when this is understood does the question of
liberating the nonwhite population in the police states of Malan, Strijdom and
Verwoerd come into proper focus.
The
liberation of the Africans in South Africa is impossible without liquidating
the present economic system. Those who oppose apartheid without acknowledging
the need for a radical transformation of the South African society commit a
serious error unless their sympathy is feigned.
Nowhere
is it as clear as in the Republic of South Africa that capitalism depends on
the exploitation and oppression of the toiling masses. If we leave aside the
white proletariat, which has been bought off by the Afrikaanders to support
them in the elections, by wages second only to those of the United States, the
secret of this capitalist system is revealed by a difference in skin colour.
75%
Rural
Of
the blacks (Africans), forming the overwhelming majority of the South African
population, nearly 75 per cent live outside the cities, that is 8,250,000 out
of 11,000,000. Official figures for October, 1964, were 11,915,000 Africans,
1,703,000 Coloureds, 520,000 Asians and 3,335,000 Whites in South Africa.
Of
these again, 3,000,000 work practically under slave conditions on the white
farms; while the rest, 5,250,000, must struggle to keep body and soul together
in the so‑called Reserves and future „Bantustans“ (the present
independent Transkei being the first) ‑ which comprise only 13.7 per cent
of the total land area of South Africa.
According
to the Land Act, 1913, and its Amendment, 1945, „no African is allowed to
possess, buy, or sell land anywhere in South Africa“ (Art. 25, Sec. 6). The
Africans can only stay on – and cultivate ‑ land in the reserves.
Thus
20 per cent of the population ‑ mainly Boer farmers ‑ own 86.3 per
cent of the land. Still more accurately expressed: the total area of South
Africa is 472,359 square miles; whites own 416,130 square miles, the remainder ‑
some 56,000 square miles ‑ comprise the „Bantu homelands“.
Even
among the white farmers the land is not equally distributed, since 63 per cent
possess 12 per cent of the total land area; 27 per cent Possess 32 per cent;
and 10 per cent possess 56 per cent.
As
the Africans in the reserves have no modern agricultural implement, their
economic status grows worse year by year. The primitive methods of their
forefathers were economically supportable when the Africans still had the whole
of South Africa to themselves.
Wars
of Dispossession
As a
result of the ten „Wars of Dispossession“ ‑ so‑called Kaffir or
Xhosa Wars (in South African and even international history books), ranging
from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century ‑
the Africans were forced into the „Native Reserves“ of South Africa and the
three „British Protectorates“ which, climatically and economically, are far
from the best areas.
Thus
pastoral farming and animaldrawn ploughs became uncompetitive. On top of this,
heavy taxation was imposed on the Africans; the poll tax, for example, is
raised whenever the demand for cheap labour increases. Other taxes are the
„Union Tax“ and the „Bantu Authorities Tax“.
It
was not only the ravenous expansionist drive of the whites that led to
expulsion of the native peoples from their ancestral lands. A system was
developed to force them to accept low‑paid jobs outside their „labour
concentration camps“ the reserves (the Transkei, Zululand, Zeerust and
Sokhukhuneland being the largest).
Dispossession
transformed independent African farmers into „squatters“ ‑ having no
legal title to land originally belonging to them ‑ tenants and migratory
labourers on white farms; and drove others through hunger, poverty and heavy
taxes to the industrial towns and mines in search of work.
The
„Border Industries project“ of today intends shifting the Afrikaander
industries nearer to the reserves, but the capitalist exploiting system and its
compulsions remain fundamentally unchanged.
The
social and judicial position of the African farm labourer is inconceivably bad.
Working 60 hours and more a week, he often earns scarcely enough to clothe and
feed himself in meagre fashion. He is legally subjugated to a system that
parallels, if it does not surpass, slavery in brutality.
He
Is Tied
The
1932 South African Law on Contract Labour, for example, provides that an
African, living on the farm of his master, cannot leave unless he can produce
an identification document signed by his employer.
He
cannot take a new job unless he can produce a document, signed by his previous
employer, stating that in the coming time he has no duties to perform and is
thus discharged from work. The law further Provides that a labour service
contract applies automatically to the Africans children between the ages of 10
and 18, without their approval. They are subject to punishment, including
„flogging“.
The
pass laws are chiefly designed to channel cheap labour to the mines, farms and
industries. The pass, which is compulsory for all African men and women, town
and country dwellers, from the age of 15, contains the following:
Section
A. Name and address of the holder; the address of the Office of the Labour
Bureau, Efflux and Influx control; and the registration number of the pass‑holder.
(Every time the pass‑holder loses his job he has to go to this office. If
he or she does not find a job within 21 days then the holder must leave the
area.)
Section
B. Signature and address of the employer and the date of starting work. (The
employer must sign the pass once a month. He must also indicate the date of
discharge after which a discharged worker can be arrested, even on his way to
the Labour Bureau, and sentenced to a fine of £10 or two months’ imprisonment ‑
which means working gratis for the Boer farmers.)
Section
C. This concerns the Union Tax (every year a married man must pay £2 5s.; and
unmarried, £1 15s.).
Dr. Verwoerd’s Bantustans. The total area of South Africa is 472,359 miles. Whites own 416,130
square miles. The remainder ‑ some 56,000 square miles ‑ comprises
the so‑called Bantu homelands. Yet, the African population totals
11,915,000 compared with 3,335,000 Whites. In fact, about 20 per cent of the
population, mainly Boer farmers, own 86.3 per cent of the land. (This map is
from „South Africa: Crisis for the West“, by Colin and Margaret Legum, reviewed
on another page).
Section
D. The Bantu Authorities Tax (the African chiefs charge certain taxes at will
and are authorised by the government to punish those who refuse to pay them).
Section
E. Special permit to be allowed out after 3 p.m. (In general, no African is
allowed to be out or on the streets after 8 p.m. in white South Africa).
From
the above it becomes quite clear that the pass system is designed to control
and enslave the African. The result is that not only the Africans in the
reserves but also the farm workers, if they succeed in getting away from their
masters, swarm into the towns and mines for employment ‑ exactly in
accordance with government plans.
Cheap
Labour System
That
the mass migration of cheap black labour to the industrial areas was not merely
the result of the operation of laws of the labour market was confirmed at a
government conference as early as 1897.
To
keep the wage level desirably low, an essential for high profits, it was
explained that „a constant and abundant supply of native workers is necessary“.
Appropriate laws, high taxation of the peasants, and an ingenious recruiting
system assure a constant flow of cheap African labour from the labour
reservoirs.
For
Africans ‑ not for whites ‑ it is a crime if he does not pay his
taxes. Above the age of 18 years each African male must pay a minimum tax of
3.50 South African Rand (R), i.e., about £1 15s. sterling, per annum, whether
he is employed or not.
The
whites only pay tax when their income is R 600 (£300) or more per annum. In
addition to the already mentioned taxes, an African has to pay local tax,
tribal levies, levies to various Bantu authorities, a Bantu Education tax,
grazing, dipping and ploughing fees.
In
1957 statistics showed that an African contribution of nearly £50,000,000 per
annum in indirect taxation enters the government coffers ‑ this amount is
again used to develop and apply the various apartheid schemes and paying
government quislings enormous wages.
The
poor people are taxed to further their own misery and oppression ‑ one of
the most heinous crimes of the Herrenvolk government! Since 1936, some 400,000
blacks ‑ a quarter of them virtually imported from the territories under
Portuguese ultra‑colonialism ‑ have been employed alongside 40,000
whites in the gold mines.
These
Africans are hired as unskilled labourers ‑ being paid today nearly a
similar wage as in the 19th century at the beginning of industrialism and
mining in South Africa. Better positions at higher wages are forbidden by law.
This is intended to preserve for whites, even as wage workers, their privileged
position in society.
The
Job Reservation Act (Clause 77 of the Industrial Conciliation Act, 1924 now
newly amended in Determination No. 13 of May 9, 1963), reserves specific jobs
in various industries exclusively for whites. The worst paid jobs, the hard
dirty work, are left for the Africans.
Mr.
J. N. le Roux, South African Minister of Agriculture, expressed the official
view as follows: „We should not give the Natives an academic education. If we
do this, we shall be burdened with a number of academically trained Europeans
and non‑Europeans, and who is going to do the manual labour in the
country? I am in thorough agreement with the view ... that to a great extent he
(the Native) must be the labourer in this country.“ (Hansard, Volume 11, 1945).
The
African, being a constant migrant worker, contracted as a rule for nine to 18
months at a stretch, is refused normal status by the white government as
„labourer“ or „employer“. He is thus officially discriminated as a „tribal
native“ (see Article 36 of the law of 1937).
The
African lives virtually with one foot in his place of employment and the other
in his reserve. In this way it is difficult for Africans to organise trade
unions or to become experts in a specific field. Moreover, their whole family
life is destroyed ‑ another of the sky‑screaming cruelties of the
Herrenvolk !
And
then one should remember that non‑whites (chiefly Africans) constitute 99
per cent of the unskilled workers in industry, 66 per cent of the semi‑skilled,
and 17 per cent of the skilled workers. The main branches of the South African
economy ‑ mining, industry and agriculture ‑ are dependent on
African labour.
The
abyss between the wages of the white and black workers has widened over the
years, as the following table from the gold mining industry shows:
Year |
Employed Africans |
Year’s Income Per head (in $) |
Employed Whites |
Year’s Income Per head (in $) |
1911 |
184,229 |
97 |
25,248 |
941 |
1921 |
171,227 |
110 |
19,534 |
1,529 |
1931 |
220,416 |
92 |
20,968 |
1,162 |
1941 |
376,327 |
111 |
38,402 |
1,472 |
1945 |
313,401 |
124 |
39,923 |
1,803 |
1950 |
311,972 |
147 |
39,242 |
2,369 |
1953 |
294,598 |
171 |
40,708 |
2,910 |
(Annual
Report of South African Department of Mines, 1953, Pretoria, pages 44, 50 and
56).
In
nine out of 10 lectures held in various large towns of the Federal Republic of
Germany, South African paid propagandists, like „Dr. von Lichtenfeid“ from
Johannesburg, argued that Africans are paid far higher wages than in any other African
state, hence the apartheid system is a necessity. They forget, of course, the
difference of cost of living in the various African territories.
Also,
in addition to the real evidence as shown in the above official government
table, the average wage of an African worker in the manufacturing industry in
1946 was £159.1 per annum, as compared to £734.28 for a white employee in the
same industry. In 1958 the corresponding figures were £ 173.25 against £915.89
respectively! That is a ratio of 5.28 to 1. In 1961, the ratio became 5.6 to 1.
Today
a white mineworker earns 16 times more than his black „colleague“. Yet mining
Profits exceeded £140 million in 1962. On most white farms an African earns
nearly one‑twentieth of that which a white worker earns. I witnessed
African farm labourers earning on the average £2 to £3 per month in 1962 in the
border towns of the Transkei. Accommodation for the black masses, streaming
into the towns and industrial areas, are unspeakable.
Urban
Conditions
The
recruited Africans are separated according to tribe and race. The migrant male
workers live far from the white „suburbs“ in jail‑like barracks and
locations.
Normally
the women ‑ the „Kaffermeide“, „Aias“, or „Kaffernennies“ (kaffir‑maids)
‑ working in the „Baas“ (overlord) and „Nonna“ or „Missus“ ‘s kitchens
and houses live in a single room in the back‑yards of the white
settlements.
There
are numerous examples in the South African history ‑ today still ‑
of poor African girls returning home to the reserves, expecting a „Coloured“
baby from some „manager“, „bank director“ or „secretary“ of some Minister ‑
facts that normally never reach the press (which is nothing unusual in our
bourgeois society) ‑ but all signs of how strong the „colour bar“ of the
Afrikaander nationalists is!
From
these African townships situated miles from the central industrial areas ‑
the workers are transported daily to their jobs by means of buses, at fares
they can scarcely pay. The big bus strike of Alexandra‑township in the
fifties proved that raising the fares by one penny meant for the Africans
sinking below the bread line.
(Various
paragraphs missing in the Original…)
Below
Hunger Line
(Paragraphs
missing…)
In a
Penguin Special ‑ Sanctions Against South Africa ‑ Oliver Tambo,
the Deputy President‑General of the ANC of South Africa, writes:
„Apartheid
keeps African labour cheap. It has to in the interests of the ‘people’ (the
3,335,000 whites). Cheap labour keeps Africans underfed. In the urban areas
four out of every five families are starving. The rate is higher in the country
areas. The result is that the African population is exposed to the ravages of
diseases easily traceable to poverty. The average life expectancy of an African
is 37 to 42 years. For whites it is 67 to 72 years, a difference of 30 years!
57%
Die
„In
breathless praise of the Government’s ‘showpiece’ hospital, Baragwanath, the
Director of Information of the South African Embassy in London declares: ‘Every
hour of the day and night a baby is born in the maternity ward.’ But out of
every 100 African babies born, 57 die before they reach their fifth birthday.
The rate for Whites is 5 per cent. The mass destruction of innocent babies is
the work of apartheid.“ (Penguin Special, Edited by Ronald Segal, May, 1964, Page
23.)
Nobel
Prize winner Albert John Luthuli, in his book „Let my People Go“, having the
„Freedom Charter“ of the ANC as an appendix, states: „Whites in South Africa
rank fourth in the world’s standard of living when 10 per cent of the Africans
live below the bread line. Most of the rest are just above it.“ (Fontana
paperback edition, Page 182).
In
spite of the relatively progressive industrialisation of the country, there are
no trade unions worthy of the name among the African workers. A law passed in 1937 defined trade unions as
„unions of employees“. Since African workers are denied the status of
„employees“, no legal basis exists for the formation of recognised trade
unions.
Only
unregistered ‑ mostly whitecontrolled ‑ African workers’ unions
exist. The African worker is forbidden by law to strike (see Law of 1953, No.
48, Article 18), hence these unions are useless in practice.
The
enormous profits made at the expense of the exploited Africans are indicated by
the following examples:
(1)
From 1870 till the end of 1934, the South African diamond mining industry on an
invested capital of £20,000.000 sterling, paid out more than £80,000,000
sterling in net dividends. In 1961 British investors in the mining industries
altogether got £18,900,000 sterling as net dividends,
(2)
The gold mining industry ‑ including the successful and unsuccessful
companies paid between 1886 and 1932 on
an invested capital of £20,000,000 sterling more than £255,000,000 sterling to
its shareholders as net dividends. After sixty years of exploitation, in 1945
the net dividend figure paid out reached £479,000,000 sterling. (Figures from
Decision in Africa, W. A. Hunton, New York, 1960.)
Further,
the dividend payments of the Orange Free State Goldmining companies rose from
£1.5 million sterling in 1955 to £16.7 million sterling in 1959. (Figures from
„AFRICA‑The Roots of Revolt“, J.
Woddis, 1962, Page 228).
(3)
It has been calculated that American investments in South Africa brought a 27
per cent profit per annum.
„Magic
Formula“
Clearly
such gross and brutal exploitation can be maintained, in the long run, only if
the oppressed population accept prevailing conditions as unchangeable or due to
„God’s Will“ and if they are blocked from political recourse. The Afrikaander
ruling class believe that they have found this magic formula in apartheid.
Under
this policy, a „white“ parliament, representing 3,067,638 whites projects
dividing and ruling 10,807,809 Africans, 1,488,267 Coloureds and 477,414 Asians
(1960 census figures).
With
the present socioeconomic conditions suffered by the Africans as an example of
Herrenvolk’s strategy the Coloureds, Indians, Malays and Chinese can presage
their own future situation. The present house arrests, detention and tortures
have proved this already.
The
latest oppressive laws ‑the
Sabotage Act, 1962, the „90‑Day No Trial Law“, and the Bantu General Law
Amendment Act, both of 1963 plus those in process in 1964 – have worsened the
situation and introduced a „reign of terror“.
At
the same time revolutionary democratic and socialistic movements have gained
ground, in spite of the setbacks of mass arrests, bannings and pressure
underground. One of the most important ones is the National Liberation Front
(NLF), of South Africa and South West Africa, a broad anti‑South Africa
„United Front“, aimed at uniting all progressive organisations in Southern
Africa and preparing for a militant national struggle to liquidate the Present
Herrenvolk state.
There
are big attempts to form a united front with ANC, PAC and the CPSA. Up to now,
due to old rivalries and policies, there had been little success ‑
although such a step is very much desired, under a common midtant progressive
policy!
Yet
political power is still firm in the hands of Afrikaanerdom ‑ only a
successful „Spartacus“ of the proletariat ‑ can dethrone ‘Verwoerd
Vorster Muller’, the „triumvirate“ of the white Republic.
The
Dutch Reformed Church is the Afrikaanders prayer for the success of the „chosen
people“; the Broederbond is the underground organisation to keep everything
strategically controlled; the Afrikaander universities and other institutions
of „ChristianNational Education“ are the dedicated suppliers of Afrikaander
nationalism; and the „Reddingsdaad“ is aimed at destroying the economic power
of the English‑speaking group. All these organisations conspire to ensure
that Political Power is based by social and economic control.
The
white proletariat and the Boer farmers form the base of apartheid, they decide
the destiny of South Africa today. In fact, they represent less than 40 per
cent of the electorate and only a little more than 1,500,000 whites, out of a
total population of over 17,000,000 today!
Yet
the English‑speaking community sill controls 99 per cent of mining
capital, 94 per cent of industrial capital, 88 per cent of finance capital and
75 per cent of commercial capital.
SEVEN
FINANCE HOUSES CONTROL OVER 1,000 COMPANIES, HAVING A CAPITAL EXCEEDING £
1,000,000,000.
Foreign
capital constitutes a large part of the investments in South Africa. These
investments affect the attitude of the West toward the apartheid policy. Up to
1946 over £750,000,000 sterling had been invested in mining and government
loans. By 1953 this figure had passed £1,250,000,000.
IN
OTHER WORDS, AFTER WORLD WAR II OVER £,500,000,000 STERLING WERE INVESTED IN
SOUTH AFRICA BY CAPITALISTS OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES ‑ CHIEFLY ENGLAND,
AMERICA, WEST GERMANY AND FRANCE.
Who
Owns It
In
1956, total foreign investments were estimated at £1,396,000,000 sterling. The
British share was £865,600,000; USA £171,000,000; other sterling countries
£69,800,000. Of Britain’s share, £556,100,000 was in direct investment, and
£309.500,000 in portfolio investment. Mining accounted for £164,000,000 of the
direct investment and £121,900,000 of the portfolio investment.
Hence
Britain invested £285,900,000 sterling in mining alone ‑ which paid
£18,900,000 in net dividends in 1961! Today Britain has invested over
£1,000,000,000 in South Africa, hence her stake in the maintenance of capitalism
in South Africa is clear, not quite so clear as her interest in the maintenance
of apartheid. The economic boycott and sanctions will show the naked truth
soon!
In
the United States in 1955 the Department of Commerce encouraged American
businessmen to invest in South African concerns. This encouragement was in
reality superfluous. By 1955 the $50,000,000 direct private investment of 1943
had increased five times. The American state is eagerly supporting the
Herrenvolk state with dollars and arms (see later).
By
the end of 1955 the Exim and World Bank had invested not less than $330,000,000
in South African concerns, much more than in any other African country. In the
last five years US investments have increased tremendously. No wonder that US
officials ‑ like Senator Hickenlooper in 1953 after a trip through South
Africa ‑ have considered South Africa a „reliable friend“.
Lately
in the United Nations’ resolutions and those of other „special committees“,
concerning diplomatic and trade relations, or sanctions and the banning of arms
to South Africa, one can clearly see how England, America and France, together
with some other capitalist countries, show their true colours ‑ tinted
with African blood ‑ more and more!
Budget
Increases
The
South African military budget increased by £24.000,000 sterling in 1962,
reaching £60,000,000. Another £20,000.000 were added in 1963. Between 1960‑1
and 1963‑4 the defence expenditure was quadrupled to £104,000,000
sterling.
By
December, 1964, the Herrenvolk had 104,000 men for the army ready for action at
any emergency, as compared to 9,000 in 1960. A Citizen Force and Commandos,
consisting partially of white youths (male and female) over the age of 18
years, 15,000 armed white police, co‑ordinated with the army, and a
Police Reserve, whose target is 50,000 ‑ partly of Coloureds and Indians,
but not, of course, Africans ‑ are ready to assist should any national
revolt break out.
Further,
research into poison gas, tear gas, chemical bacteriological weaponry, rockets
and nuclear weapons are made ‑ assisted especially by German scientists
who have forgotten ‑ or helped in ‑ the gas chambers of Nazi
Germany! They are busy building an Afrikaander „Third Reich“!
Britain’s
Help
In
the current three‑year period Britain is supplying South Africa with
£90,000,000 sterling of military equipment. This is definitely not for
international defence! In 1962, Imperial Chemical Industries contributed a
capital investment of £10,000,000 sterling, plus its considerable technical assistance
and knowledge, to build armament factories in South Africa.
The
United States supplied aircraft and other important weapons. France furnished
mirage jet fighters and air‑to ground missiles. La Carbone, a French
armament concern, is setting up a firm in South Africa. Belgium granted
Verwoerd licence rights to manufacture the FN automatic rifle, which is
standard equipment for NATO troops! West Germany supplied 63 troop carriers.
Switzerland authorised the delivery of anti‑aircraft guns, pistols, and
ammunition to South Africa. The US Ford Motor Company has announced its
intention of manufacturing automobile engines in South Africa. However, an
engine is an engine be it for a car or a tank.
Thus
most of the suppliers of arms and ammunition to South Africa have already
secured their businesses right inside the country and can now proclaim aloud
about banning arms to South Africa.
South
Africa’s current military spending is greater than the combined military
budgets of the poetically independent African states. Further, South Africa has
16 Mirage III Mach. 20 strike aircraft ‑ and hopes to get some more soon;
about 24 Buccaneer Mk. II Mach. 12 naval strike craft; 32 American Sabres and
50 British‑built Vampire subsonic jet fighters; 8 Shackleton long‑range
bombers and 6 Canberra subsonic light let bombers (B12 variants). Only the UAR
can compete with this Air force. She has about 350 warplanes, including 50 MIG
21s (Mach. 2.0).
In
the African navies, Egypt leads: 8,000 sailors man 6 frigates, 8 destroyers, 8
corvettes and 9 submarines. South Africa comes second with 3,000 men who
maintain 8 frigates and 2 destroyers.
Further,
the very effective poisonous gases ‑ used by the Nazis ‑ soman,
sarin and tabun are manufactured in large quantities for future use in South
Africa.
Foreign
investments from the various countries of the „Free World“ contribute not only
objectively but subjectively to maintaining and strengthening this regime of
terror and fanaticism in the Republic of South Africa.
On
the one hand they stabilise the South African industry, and on the other, new
businesses are drawn into practising the same racial policies even if
reluctantly, since they have to obey the galaxy of fascist laws.
The
United Nations can avoid a massacre, guarantee reasonable economic interests
for the West and ensure peace in Africa, if they sincerely consider the
democratic aspirations of the black, yellow and other coloured and white
people, for otherwise any intervention ‑ or none ‑ will end in a
catastrophic massacre.
In
the present state of affairs, perhaps, the only way to achieve this is by
effective economic sanctions, especially by England, America, West Germany,
France, Japan, Canada and Italy, on the part of the United Nations, which could
break down the resistance of the Verwoerd regime and initiate a process of
democratic change.