Until recently Transkei was the biggest Reserve of South Afrioa. It was also the first to experience the "benevolent" policy of apartheid which is "developing progressively toward the creation of Bantustan territories,” The Reserve of the mandate territory of South West Africa is scheduled to become the next component. part of Bantustan, Yet strangely enough the natives of South West Afrioa are bitterly opposed to this project, regardless of the threat.of bloodshed,
Why is this so? The actual. “degree of independence. of ‘Transkei provides sufficient answer. The former reservation, and todayts Bantustan, covers an area of 42,500 square kilometers. The population. consists of 1,384,673 Africans 13,600 Coloureds, and 18,000 whites, mostly traders’ and white-collar workers, In accordance with the watohword of apartheid, "divide and rule," the Africans have been separated into tribes and races, In Transkei these are the former nomadic Ama Xhosa people, who are now struggling for bare existence, and:who are obliged to sell their labour power cheaply, These people were promised independence,
In accordance with the Constitution of Transkei proclaimed in 1963 by the all-white Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, the strangest elections which ever took place in South Africa were held, The Ama Xhosa were allowed to elect 45 of the 109 members of their Transkei "parliament." The remaining 64 were nominated by the government of South Africa. Executive power is vested in Premier Matanzima, who is at the same time Minister of Justice (as it is obvious that no one ever heard of the democratio separation of powers), There are only five ministries: Justice, Education, Interior Affairs, Agrioculture and Forestry, Transport and Public Works,
The fact that 5,425,000 Africans speak the Xhosa language providés the basis for another curious regulation. About 2,000,000 live and work in all parts of South Africa -~ in mines, factories or on white settlers! farms, In spite of this, these Africans, whose feet never touched Transkei soil, are now citizens of Transkei under the new law. Besides this, the legislative assembly may impose taxes upon the citizens of Transkei regardless of whether they actually live there or not. All who come in conflict with the law can be tried before the Transkei courts or before any white court in the Republic. Legislation in the Transkei is under the jurisdiction of the central government, particularly where defence, international security and foreign affairs are concerned,
The laws on racial segregation are also valid in Umtata, the capital of the Transkei, Premier Matanzima, for example, is not allowed to enter a cafe reserved for whites, At a time when other countries are forced to renounce their colonies, new ones are being
created by Verwoerd: and his-apartheid "apostles." |. = ‘Vérwoerd’ is oreating a colony in Transkei to which, under world pressure, he is granting some powers -- but carefully controlled, Recently an African wrote: "The Bantustans will serve as mating suitable dumping ground from which the juice has been extracted, woo
One of the chief aims of the "Bantu E Hducation" is to create a "new elite" of Africans, schooled.in the. dectrines of apartheid to. administer. the Bantustans as stooges.-of the fas¢ist white: government, A supreme example is Kaiser Matanzime -~ “a racist opportunist. u
Thus a few Africans are, permitted to pass beyond Standard 2 (the fourth year in school), In 1960, °23,5% of South Africats pupils were in: Standard 3 to 6; 2 9%- in. Standards 7 and 83 and 0.2% in Standards 9 and 10, One pupil in 500 reaches the matriculation classes: 100 to 200 pass the examination. From there they go to the "tribal » university. colleges" =~ the supreme indoctrination centers -- in which 304 Afrioans took degree courses in 1961, In South Africa, only one African in 15,000 is allowed to receive a university educa~ tion as compared with one white in 1925, (Population, 1960 census: 10,807,809 Africans, 3,067,638 whites, )
The consequences of this policy are brutal:
(a) An Afvican ‘on the average lives only half as: ‘ong as a. white,
(b) Every third African treated in hospitals suffers from mal nutrition, while South Africa exports foodstuffs.
(6) ‘The illiteracy rate for Africans is 65h, while all whites receive education, wi Se
— (da) Africans cannot live, work, travel where they please. .
(e) A "poal democratic parliament" does not exist in’ which they could participate. In actuality they are excluded from political life and have no influence on the racist laws.
(f) Apartheid leans the political, sooial and economic domination of all the nonwhites by a minority of whites,
. The Batustan solution to the racial question means driving the big majority of the population into an area comprising 13.7%.of the total area, the barren and rocky regions. Until a radical change occurs, these Africans will be deprived of civic rights in regions inhabited. by whites where both fertile soil and natural resources are found in abundance, .
The creation of the Bantustans, “Coloureds tans and Indianstans is a monstrous perversion doomed to failure and eventual liquidation,
"TLtUNITA"