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Report of a Deputation from the ANC to the Deputy Prime Minister and Others on March 4, 1942, by Dr. A.B. Xuma [n.d.]

The African National Congress, the political mouthpiece of Africans in the Union of South Africa and the recognised champion of their cause and status, has been watching the trend of events since the outbreak of the present world war. They have closely studied South Africa's native policy in general, and found that it not only affects the African adversely, economically, industrially, politically, educationally, socially, physically and physiologically, as well as morally; but it also affects most seriously and alarmingly their attitude towards the war effort. It damps their zeal to do their full share in the defence of South Africa. Most Africans feel and declare that they have not only nothing to fight for, but nothing to fight with. Even many of those who had volunteered and answered the call became disillusioned when they discovered the unsatisfactory, humiliating, discriminating conditions they have to serve under. Some Africans feel that they did their bit for King and Country during the first world war, within the limits of service set for them by South African colour prejudices. For this, they claim, they received scant consideration after peace was restored. They feel, therefore, that "Once bitten, twice shy." Congress, however, fully realizing their responsibility as well as their duty to the State, as leader of thought, for the seven or eight million Africans resolved, at the instance of their President-General, in his Presidential address at the Annual Conference held at Bloemfontein during December 14th-16th, that "Congress must take steps for representations to be made to the Right Honourable the Prime Minister and Minister of Native Affairs, Colonel Denez [Deneys] Reitz, on the questions of Army Service and the African Representation; Land; Education; Wages and Recognition and Registration of African Trade Unions; the Native Administration Act and the Pass Laws."

Communications were sent to both the ministers accordingly, by the writer, and a reply came through Mr. D.L. Smit, Secretary for Native Affairs, as follows:

"General Smuts has asked me to inform you that, owing to the onerous burdens cast upon him by reason of the war, it will unfortunately not be possible for him to receive you personally but he has asked Colonel Reitz, in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Native Affairs to meet the deputation."

"I have discussed the matter with my Minister and he has fixed 10 a.m., Wednesday 4th March, 1942, as the date upon which the interview should take place." At 10 a.m. on March 4th, 1942, the African National Congress deputation composed of the following members:

(1) Mr. R.H. Godio M.R.C., President - Advisory Boards Congress and Advisor on Urban Affairs, African National Congress;

(2) Mr. Z.K. Matthews M.A. LL.B., President - African Teachers' Federation and Advisor on Education, African National Congress. Alice, C.P.;

(3) Mr. T.M. Mapikela M.R.C., President - O.F.S. African Congress and Vice-President, African National Congress;

(4) Mr. S.J. Sililo M.R.C., (Durban) Secretary Natal Native Congress and Advisor on Social Welfare, African National Congress;

(5) Rev. Jas. Calata (Cradock) Secretary-General, African National Congress;

(6) Mr. R.G. Baloyi M.R.C. (Johannesburg) Treasurer-General African National Congress;

(7) Mr. Qamata M.R.C., member of the Bhunga, Transkeian Territories. (Cala);

(8) Mr. D. Gosani, Secretary Non-European Council of Trade Unions. (Johannesburg),

met the Deputy Prime Minister, with some heads of State Departments, and some members ofSmit's Committee which recently enquired into the Economic conditions of the African people.

The European Representatives of Africans in Parliament attended as spectators.

We sat from 10 o'clock a.m. until about 6 p.m. breaking up only for lunch....

LAND POLICY

On Land Policy we pointed out that neither the Natives' Land Act of 1913 nor the Native Land and Trust Amendment Act, 1936, was ever intended to solve or satisfy the African's land hunger. The provision and policy of these Acts seem to have caused less land available for the lawful occupation by African people in rural areas than was available before the passing of the Original Act. A similar situation for urban Africans has been created by the Natives Urban Areas Act, 1923, and its amendments. We called attention to extreme overcrowding in the so-called reserves. For example, in areas like the Transkei about half the population is landless, and contrary to popular and unsympathetic offical opinion, have no root with their families in the land but depend on wages earned away from home, and are mere squatters in these areas. In the Ciskei conditions seemed to be so much worse that, as I was told from reliable sources, when then the Chief Native Commissioner received the applications for released land, he made no allotments to any applicant, stating that he was embarassed because there were many times more applicants than available land. This seems to be almost a common experience in many areas.

Besides, under the policy of the Trust Land, landless people may not squat as in the reserves. The allotments in both are not sufficient for all family needs so that even owners of plots of land in African territories must supplement their produce with wages away from home. Only tax-payers may acquire land on Trust land.

The Trust land, we pointed out, was bought generally at highly inflated prices without improvements justifying such prices. Besides, in certain areas, the seller was allowed to remain for varying periods up to a year, thus having an opportunity to plow and reap a crop on Trust land, besides getting the huge apparently unearned price.

This point drew heat from the Secretary of Native Affairs who pointed out that everything was being done to make adjustments in certain....We were, however, not convinced as the farms referred to seem to be exceptions rather than the rule; and we made this point clear.

The whole policy we emphasized drove the people to towns. And we further observed, no land policy with increasing industrialisation could prevent Africans, like other races the world over, from moving into towns to become permanent dwellers and workers, and to us, this was not an undesirable and unnatural trend. We, therefore, recommended for adequate land made available for purchase and/or leasing by Africans with Land Bank facilities for Africans to improve such lands in rural areas.

For industrialized and urban Africans, we urged for better wages and free-hold title to land and near the areas where people are earning their living so that African families may be kept together for wholesome social and moral reasons.

REPRESENTATION "UNDER THE REPRESENTATION OF NATIVES

ACT"

Under this Act we found, except in the Cape Province, that the people who should be qualified to vote under democratic conditions, such as professional men, ministers, teachers, clerks, property owners, businessmen and taxpayers, or contributors to State coffers, were not eligible to cast their individual votes. Besides, we have sixteen African members of the Native Representative council standing for about seven million people, one Senator representing the Transvaal and Orange Free State, another representing the whole province of Natal. The two Senators represent between them about four million Africans. The resolution of the deliberations of the Native Representative Council do not seem even to catch the attention of Parliament. Taking it all in all we cannot help calling this Act the "MisRepresentation of Natives Act."

We, therefore, recommended that there should be delimitation of smaller constituencies so that there may be more representatives who may and can contact members of their constituencies; all qualified persons as mentioned above, including every poll tax-payer (even though we are against the present form of African taxation) should nominate candidates and cast individual votes in place of this present communal vote which is exercised, by Chiefs in rural areas, apparently likely to be under the influence of certain European Native Commissioners in some areas in favour of certain candidates, and, Advisory Boards, in urban areas, some of whom do not always seem free from influence of Location Superintendents as some of these Advisory Board members being Council nominees.

Finally, we recommended statutory powers for the Native Representative Council. The last recommendation seems to have created a little excitement from Government representatives who feared the creation of another Parliament. While we could not say what limitation of these powers are going to be, we allayed the fears of all concerned by saying as [sic] they may deal with the funds of the South African Trust Funds and questions that are of African interest purely and simply, if such questions do exist.

SOCIAL WELFARE

We pressed, on principle, for the application of full benefits of Social legislation to the Africans according to the human needs of the individual and not on racial or colour basis. We urged the extension of the benefits of the Children's Act to African children, the application of Disablement pensions, Blind pensions and Old age pensions to Africans.

When we asked why the regulations under the Children's Act discriminated against African children, we were told that it was the policy of the Department of Social Welfare not to give the indigent African child more than he would receive on the basis of his father's wages of about three pounds (£3). Besides, we were told that it was the intention of the department not to take away the urge on the part of the mother to go out to work for her child. We then asked if it was not a fact that the Honourable the Deputy Prime Minister had stated publicly that the African lived below the bread line. This being admitted, we were anxious to know whether then the policy was a deliberate attempt on the part of the Government to keep the Africans below the bread line. What had the essential and physiological requirements of an African child to do with a State policy which was morally, ethically and scientifically unsound. It was admitted that this was a matter for careful review by the authorities. We asked for better facilities of all desirable types of education for African children for discipline and outlets for employment of African juveniles to prevent delinquency and vagrancy.

We urged for the training of African Social workers with facilities of such training being provided at Fort Hare College as a climax.

In approaching this subject we realise that war service is not a service in which people either get rich or derive huge profits for themselves and their dependents. The soldier volunteers and risks his life and his all for a principle, namely the defence of the rights he and his own enjoy, as well as the protection of his family in the hope that during his period of service or in case of death in service, the State will make ample provisions for his dependents. Besides, the conditions of service, the Status and treatment of the soldier during such service and the consideration the ex-soldier receives after discharge or demobilisation or disablement, may encourage or discourage those and their friends who were otherwise contemplating joining the service.

For instance, it is the consensus of opinion among African people of all classes in the Union, both urban and rural, that the condition of service for the African soldiers and the pin-pricks and humiliations he is subjected to at times, apparently to put an inferiority complex in him, tend to discourage the African people from joining the Native Military Corps and cognate units. Africans now are not trained to be fighting men. They are merely as a race prepared to be batmen, transport drivers and stretcher-bearers. Dangerous jobs all these are, as they expose these men to death and make them objectives of enemy fire without the Africans being able to defend themselves. They have no arms with which to fight. They are expected to fight aeroplanes, tanks and enemy artillery with knob-kernes and assegais. What mockery! This seems to be 'inhumanity of man to man.'

The pay of the African soldiers is deplorably low and compares most unfavourably with even that of other Non-European soldiers not to mention that of white soldiers. It is argued that this pay compares favourably with peacetime African wages - starvation wages which have brought untold misery to the Africans, filthy surroundings, ill-health, moral degradation, morbidity and premature death. The dependents of Africans, generally speaking, cannot keep even a minimum physiological standard on the allowances given them.

Further, so far as we know no satisfactory arrangements have been made to safe-guard the interests of the discharged, disabled, or demobilized African soldier. He is more like an orange sucked of all its juice and ready to be cast into the garbage can to be food for swine or to be taken to a dump heap. Naturally, it would be ridiculous to expect pensions based on this paltry pay to mean anything but starvation to the dependents of African soldiers. Although other soldiers receive special pay for special services such as clerical work, instruction to motor drivers etc., Africans, so far as our knowledge goes, do not receive such allowances.

Even leave regulations are framed to put the African soldiers to great disadvantage as compared with others. Europeans get 30 days or a month a year, which [sic] the African soldier gets only twelve days. We realise that army leave is not a right but a privilege; but we feel that all the soldiers deserve it.

To appease racial superiority more pin-pricks and humiliation have been poured upon the African soldier's head. It seems as though his service is neither appreciated nor wanted. He may not rise in rank beyond a sergeant. To satisfy the pride of certain Europeans at one time, an order was issued calling upon African N.C.O.s to turn their stripes downwards so that they do not appear to be the same as those worn by European N.C.O.s and so that the European private will feel less embarassed in the presence of these African N.C.O.s. The reply to this point was that the order had been rescinded. But our point is, how much harm was done by this absurd order, before its rescission. Finally and more recently, it has been ordered that "In the event of an emergency, any European private shall have command of the Non-European personnel irrespective of rank."

European Chaplains and European officers are in command in the "Native Military Corps" in order to keep the 'native' under European control and to avoid giving him commissions so that he may lead and direct his own people, in the service of King and Country.

The Africans have men who are capable of qualifying for any army rank and get the best out of their men as officers and N.C.O.s. It would be a matter of indifference to Africans whether or not they are saluted by a European. They have no desire to inconvenience or embarass European Officers, N.C.O.s or Privates.

Why not train Africans fully, equip them and give them all commissions in the Native Military Corps. This would solve the problem of our Chaplains who would receive proper rank in the Native Military Corps and attend to the spiritual needs of our men in Service.

The British army has commissioned officers in the King's African Rifles, men like Lieutenant Kwagwa. Africans hold commissions in the R.A.F. We do not lack more capable or men of equal ability. Since enemy bullets have no colour bar and are killing the unarmed, non-combatant Africans as quickly as they will an European, we would urge that there should be no discrimination in the soldiers' pay, allowances to their dependents, leave privileges, disablement benefits, satisfactory provisions for discharged, and demobilisation as well as pension rights.

We cannot maintain these peace-time discriminations in the army and expect the victims of such discriminations or their friends and relatives to rush in their thousands to the army to defend them. We have come here as responsible leaders of the African people to tell the government, in the interest of all concerned, that the disabilities we have mentioned under which the Africans live tend to strain their loyalty or at least to make them indifferent to the fate of the country and the outcome of the conflict. Their loyalty so far is not happiness or contentment. They ask what must we fight for? What rights and privileges have we? Everything worth while in South Africa is a privilege of the white man.

To us, as leaders, this is a tragic situation. Danger is looming from the North and from the East. To us, this is not a war of colours that is why black Indians, yellow Chinese and black Africans are fighting the allied cause. They are fighting a war of ideologies, nazism, fascism, dictatorship and all other enemies of the State, of Christianity, of democracy and of human decency, externally and internally, that is, in South Africa.

To achieve total war effort, we urge the government to take courage in both hands and give the Africans something to fight for by removing the many disabilities and discriminations against them as well as giving them something to fight with.

If Africans are to be trained and be prepared and ready for the hour of danger and defence of their country, now is the time to begin that training in all phases, of modern warfare and in the use of all modern instruments and weapons of warfare.

To wait until the enemy is at our gates is to let South Africa go the way of other countries that looked upon the aboriginees as greater enemies than the invaders.

Given something to fight for and something to fight with, as suggested above, Africans will automatically have acquired the will and the heart to fight. They will make South Africa a costly prize for any enemy of the State.

We hope common sense will prevail over the obsolete, irrational and blind sentiments and prejudices which are the arch-enemies of South Africa internally and are preventing her total defence.

EDUCATION

On this subject we pointed, with appreciation, that, whereas in 1923 the four provinces were spending £ 340,000 on Native Education, the latest estimates at the meeting of the Native Representative Council were £1,1780,000 [sic] and that another £230, 000 will be available as a result of the budget speech of the Minister of Finance who allotted 5/6 the Native Taxation revenue to Native Education. However, the latter amount would merely balance the deficit which might have accrued on the basis of the year's estimates and there was nothing left to bring relief to the underpaid and desperate African teacher on the salary of £4-10-0 to £5-10-0 per month for qualified teachers. We felt ... 6/6 must be paid over to the Native Education in order that a beginning can be made on annual increments on teachers salaries.

We futher pointed out that whereas "the State in 1939 spent over 10% million pounds on the education of 417,000 white children, and £ 965,000 on the education of 165,000 Coloured and Indian children, that is £ 21-10-0 and £ 5-5-0 per head per pupil respectively, only £ 934,000 was spent on the education of 450,000 African children or £ 2-7-0 per African child per head. This amount is based on the one-third African children of school going age who are actually at school. The position becomes even more depressing when it is realised that on the basis of the total number of African children the per caput grant would be only 16/-per pupil. Besides, this money is from direct taxation of the Africans themselves, the poorest section of the Union population.

We finally emphasized that this inelastic source of revenue for Native education and Social Welfare was now exhausted, thereby making it imperative that a new formula for financing must be found. To us, it is clear that the only sound, national and equitable formula is the per caput grant based not on the African children now in school but on the total African population of school going age. We suggested as a minimum per caput grant of the same school going age scales as for Coloured and Indian children, namely Five guineas per caput. We pointed out that the needs and requirements of Native Education as well as the aspirations of African people far now exceeded the resources of the missions who had for so long borne the burden. It was now high time for the State to take over Native Education, finance and control it according to the best standards and requirements of sound educational policy without regard to race or colour. We urged for financing of Native Education from General revenue on a per caput basis with African teachers given professional and civil status and pension rights based on remunerations and salaries compatible with their high duties and service to the State and the community. We urged for the training of Africans for all spheres and trades and professions they are capable of mastering in order to be able to serve their people and their country in all capacities. Technical training and engagement in skilled trades should be open to all. Qualified Africans should have preference in all posts in African Schools and in all services that cater for Africans only under the country segregation policy. If there are no qualified Africans for any such posts, facilities must be created for their training immediately.

We hold that education is essential for the intelligent participation in the Affairs, by every adult member, of a democratic State.

An interesting and enlightened discussion took place on the Pass Laws. It was remarkable to find how practice or custom especially in a department like the Native Affairs seem to enslave some people's attitudes even though they have no sound or rational basis for their continuance.

We pressed for the abolition of Pass Laws. We argued that they served no good purpose and protected neither the European public nor the African community. They operate and function as an instrument of oppression and repression of African people straining the relation between the police and the whites in general. They restricted the movement of the African from place to place, and, therefore, his bargaining power with his labour. The African, in pass bearing Provinces, may not remain for more than twelve days in the same area for purpose of seeking employment. If he remains he is liable to arrest subject to conviction with seven days or 10/- fine or more as the case maybe. If he goes to gaol, he is stamped as a criminal as few prospective employers will believe his story that his gaol term was for contravention. He may be ordered to go to another area to seek employment. Having no money, he may decide to put into practice some of the lessons he learnt while in contact with real criminals in gaol or in cells before trial. He tries to "live on his wits" and may find this more profitable than honest work. The State law for "Natives Only" has made a criminal of him and he develops a sense of grievance and anti-State attitudes and becomes anti-social in outlook.

A pass bearing African is no employee in the terms of the Industrial Conciliation Act and as a result his trade Union cannot be registered. If he strikes, he can be prosecuted. He is being constantly harassed and embarassed by the police who may stop and ask him for his pass which he must have in his person at all times. Failure to produce the document there and then is a criminal offence for which he is arrested and charged before a magistrate even though he may have had his pass in a coat at home, or at his place of employment. Many Africans have been assaulted or even shot and wounded arising out of disputes and arrests for passes. These passes are demanded at the Railway station so that many Africans have been left by long distance trains only because one had forgotten a pass at home, while Europeans, Chinese, Indians and others are not called upon to produce such documents.

Arguments were advanced that the passes were necessary to prevent crimes committed by Africans, to protect Africans in their contracts with employers. We pointed out that criminals are always provided with passes so that they may meet the police without fear of suspicion. On the suggestion of identifying the African and protecting his contract of service, we argued that this, to us, indicates that either the European employers in the O.F.S. and the Transvaal are dishonest with regard to their contracts with Africans or we, the Africans of these provinces, are stupid, of inferior intelligence to Africans in the Cape or Natal where no contract of service - identity pass and special pass are necessary. We illustrated that a Xhosa can walk from Umzimkulu to Cape Town without being lost. An African in Natal or in the Cape requires a pass only on leaving or on entering these Provinces.

If the passes are of any value against crimes of honouring contracts of service or crimes in general, the Government in justification of the pass laws should first establish that there is more crime in the non-pass bearing provinces. As for a single identification certificate euphoniously referred to as a pass-port, we replied that it was obsolete because it was recommended by the Interdepartmental Committee in 1920 as being suitable for that generation. This is another generation and progress has been made. So far as using this single certificate as a passport, the Africans, we declared, are not prepared to carry passports in their own home country while other South Africans do not carry such a passport.

We are prepared to carry our passports if and when we must travel abroad. To us it seems, judging from the convictions under Pass Laws, 87,566 and 101,309 men in 1938 and 1939 respectively, that the pass laws are to be classed among the factories of crime among the many such factories created in South Africa by the Union Government 'Native Affairs.' The Pass Laws administration takes valuable time of both Police and Magistrates leading to mass arrests, mass trials and inevitable miscarriage of justice resulting in a contemptuous attitude on the part of the officers of Justice towards the African as a moral being and a feeling of despair on the part of the African to expect blind justice and fair play in the hands of the police and many magistrates in lower courts.

The exemption, so-called, we pointed out was no exemption at all; it was another form of special pass. The bearer of the special pass was subjected to the same indignities as those who carry contracts of service and other types of specials. He may be stopped anywhere and everywhere by any policeman even if it is merely to annoy him. They may and do demand it. If he does not have it on his person, he is subject to arrest and liable to a fine and/or imprisonment like any other African.

As an instrument of identification, the exemption is the most ridiculous and stupid document. It merely has one's name, no address and does not even identify the bearer from any one else.

To any fairminded and honest person of any race except as an instrument of exploitation, repression, and humiliation, and a source of revenue, the pass laws serve no good purpose either to European or African nor to employer or employee.

Much abuse has been perpetrated under the guise of enforcing the Pass Laws.

Congress stands for the total abolition of pass laws in all forms as a gesture towards regaining the confidence of the African in the justice of the whiteman towards him.

After all the arguments in favour of the Pass Laws had failed, the Deputy Prime Minister declared that the figures we gave haunted him more than any other argument and that he believed that the pass laws were the cause of more ill-feeling between European and Africans than anything else he knew of. He asked for suggestions for methods of abolition without arousing adverse European public opinion. He promised to write a memorandum on the Pass Laws for its consideration by General Smuts and the Cabinet.

We must from now on organize our people everywhere and educate them about the evils of this discriminating and humiliating legislation and fight for their abolition.

I am sure we can count upon the support of all sincere, honest and fair-minded whites.

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