AN ASSESSMENT OF THE 1913 NATIVES LAND ACT 31.01.2013.pdf

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Prepared by EL Pringle

31.01.2013

An Assessment of the

1913 Natives Land Act

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Index Page

Purpose of this Review 3

A Brief History of Land Occupation in South Africa 3 - 4

The Cape 5

Natal 6

The Orange Free State 7

The Transvaal 8 - 9

Evaluation of Land Tenure in South Africa prior to 1913 10 - 11

The 1913 Natives Land Act 12 - 13

Evaluation of the 1913 Natives Land Act 14

The Way Forward 15

References 16

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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE 1913 NATIVES LAND ACT

Prepared by EL Pringle

PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW

The ruling party has placed great emphasis on the role played by the 1913 Natives Land Act in

determining existing tenure rights in South Africa. As a result, it has become important to examine

this legislation within its historical context, in order to understand its role and implications. No event

which occurred a century ago can be interpreted properly through modern eyes, unless a serious

attempt is made to reconstruct the exact circumstances which preceded it. This document is

therefore an effort to assemble the exact historical context of this Act, and to assess this as

dispassionately as possible in the cold light of fact, away from the current political hype and

propaganda surrounding it.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAND OCCUPATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

The original occupants of the country, about which little is known either of their origins or history,

were the San and Khoi peoples. The San (or Bushmen) people were nomadic hunter- gatherers who

occupied most of the interior of the country, while the Khoi were semi-nomadic pastoralists who

occupied most of its wetter coastal areas. Both groups were displaced and assimilated by later

arrivals; notably the four Black linguistic groupings (the Nguni, Sotho, Tsonga and Venda) over large

parts of the northern and eastern regions of the country, and the Europeans over the southern and

western regions. Few remnants of the San remain, and there are only a handful of Khoi people left

who can directly trace their origins.

The four Black linguistic groups mentioned arrived in the country in approximately 600 A.D., and

moved progressively down the wetter northern and eastern areas over the following twelve

centuries. The Nguni people (notably the Xhosa, Zulu and Swazi) settled along the eastern area from

Swaziland to the Kei River. They crossed the Kei in force only in 1775, displacing the Khoi people

living there at the time. During the 1820’s one off-shoot, the Matabele, split from the main group to

settle in the central Transvaal.

The Sotho people split into three groups:

The South Sotho and Barolong, who moved into Lesotho and the Eastern Free State, the North Sotho

(including the Pedi) who occupied the North-eastern Transvaal, and the West Sotho or Tswana, who

moved into the Western Transvaal and Botswana.

The Tsonga people settled in Mozambique and also in Limpopo Province, and the Venda occupied

the Northern areas of Limpopo Province. All these black groupings were semi-nomadic pastoralists,

whose tenure of any particular area depended upon the immediate availability of grazing for their

livestock, and water for survival. Since they had no technology for extracting groundwater, or for

reticulating irrigation water, they were able to occupy the more arid areas for only limited periods of

time, and therefore remained in the wetter areas.

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Since only roughly 30% of the country’s surface area is capable of supporting this type of agriculture

on a sustainable basis, they were restricted by their lifestyles to such areas. They were well

organised into hierarchical clan groupings, and their rights of occupation were determined by their

traditional leaders.

In 1652, the first European settlers arrived in Cape Town, and slowly started spreading northward

and eastwards, displacing the San and Khoi people who stood in their way. In 1779, the Fish River

was recognised as the Eastern border of the Colony, after agreement had been reached with the

neighbouring Xhosa. Initially, the Trekboers lived as nomadic pastoralists, and moved – like all such

people – according to the dictates of grazing and water. However, technology from Europe enabled

some to settle on a more permanent basis, and the ability to extract groundwater allowed many to

settle permanently in unoccupied arid areas. This technology gradually made all settlements

permanent, and resulted in the introduction of European concepts of land tenure. In 1814,

Governor Sir John Cradock began the process of converting land tenure in the now British colony

from leasehold to freehold. Freehold was rooted in the Roman Law concept of dominium, or

ownership, which was recognised as the best tenure method for driving agricultural production

within an economy, because it enabled farms to be developed on a permanent basis.

During the early 1820’s, the rise of the new Zulu nation triggered the Mfecane (or Difacane), a

period of strife and conflict which left large parts of the wetter interior uninhabited. Two of King

Shaka’s generals, Shoshangane and Mzilikazi, broke away to form their own kingdoms in

Mozambique and Gauteng respectively. In the process, Mzilikazi’s Khumalo-Matabele drove the

Tswana from land which they occupied, while other dispossessed groups, the Ngwane and the Hlubi,

attacked the South Sotho, causing other clans such as the Batlokwa (Wild Cat People) to go on the

rampage. In the South, the Xhosa were attacked by the Ngwane and the Fingo, while at the same

time all groups were subjected to the ravages of the dominant Zulus. Terrific slaughter ensued, with

wholesale depopulation of large areas, and many smaller clans being reduced to cannibalism to

survive. Only the Venda appear to have remained relatively unmolested. As has been pointed out,

the black peoples at this time were semi-nomadic, like the Khoi and San before them, and did not

acknowledge any definite boundaries. Large areas, therefore, changed owners regularly, and often

more than once. South African history was for centuries characterised by the movement and

redetermination of borders amongst the various ethnic groups. This had a profound influence on

the relationships between all groups, some of which were simply absorbed.

One effect of the Mfecane was that unoccupied buffer zones were created between hostile ethnic

groups, some of which were extensive, and in relatively arable areas, such as the future Orange Free

State and the southern areas of the future Transvaal and Natal. This was to have a major effect later

on the decision of the Voortrekkers to emigrate, as well as which areas they chose to colonise.

Before looking at the 1913 Act itself, it is necessary to analyse the approach to land tenure adopted

in the four regions, which were later to become the Provinces of the Union of South Africa. Each will

be analysed in turn.

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1. THE CAPE

Here, expansion into the interior by the Trekboers led to widespread conflict with the

original San and Khoi inhabitants. This occurred largely without the assistance or consent of

the Dutch East India Company, which feared escalating costs, and made repeated efforts to

confine the area occupied by these Trekboers. In 1775 Prince Rarabe of the Xhosa crossed

the Kei River in force, and began expanding his territories westwards, displacing the original

Khoi and San inhabitants of the area between the Kei and Fish Rivers. The following year, in

1776, Governor Plettenberg of the Dutch East India Company demarcated the Fish River as

the boundary between the White settlers and the Xhosa. This boundary was retained by the

British in 1805, after the second occupation of the Cape, and a series of treaties were

subsequently entered into with various tribal rulers in order to consolidate and secure the

frontier of the Colony. The Seventh Frontier War of 1846 put an end to this, resulting in the

annexation of the area between the Keiskamma and Kei Rivers in 1848, under the name of

British Kaffraria. This territory was declared an area for exclusive occupation by Xhosas, and

was therefore the first instance of a reserve being demarcated for exclusively black

habitation in South Africa.

In 1854 Sir George Grey became Governor, and representative government was given to the

Cape Colony with its own parliament. A policy of equality for all races in the Cape was laid

down in the Constitution, which was at the time one of the most progressive in the world. In

1857, after the event known today as the National Suicide of the Amaxhosa, thousands of

Xhosa starved to death, leaving large uninhabited arable areas in British Kaffraria. The Cape

Governor decided to fill this void by allowing white farmers to settle there, mainly as a

means of securing a troublesome frontier. In 1865, British Kaffraria was formally annexed,

and the Kei River became the new eastern border of the Colony. In 1872, the Cape was

given responsible government, with the right to formulate its own policies concerning

indigenous people. At the time, there was continuous conflict between the various nations

of the Transkei region, and in 1875 the Tembu were first to apply to the Cape government to

be placed under British protection. They were followed by Fingoland (1875). Griqualand

East (1879), Port St. Johns (1884), Gcalekaland and (1885), Mount Ayliff (1886) and

Pondoland (1894). In 1894, the Cape parliament passed the Glen Grey Act in an attempt to

abolish communal land tenure, and replace it with leasehold by individuals. The Cape

government held the land in trust for the various clan groupings concerned, and it was

reserved for their exclusive use.

In all other areas of the Cape, there were no racial restrictions placed on land ownership; all

adult males above the age of 18 years could own ground and were also entitled to vote

provided they met certain property and literary qualifications.

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2. NATAL

At the time of the arrival of the Voortrekkers under Piet Retief in 1838, the area between

the Tugela and Umtamvuna rivers was completely depopulated, and served as a buffer zone

between the Zulu and the various Xhosa speaking groups to the South. Frequent raids by

the Zulus rendered it unsafe for habitation by other groups as a direct consequence of the

Mfecane, as discussed previously. The Voortrekkers estimated roughly only 3000 Blacks

living in the entire area when they arrived. The treaty between the Zulu King Dingane and

these Voortrekkers, entered into on 4th February 1838, gave the area between the Tugela

and Umzimvubu Rivers, the Drakensberg and the sea, over to occupation by the new

settlers. It is unclear whether Dingane understood the implications of this document before

ordering the Boer signatories to be murdered. After the war of 1838, the Voortrekkers took

occupation of this ground, and declared the Republic of Natalia. This was terminated by the

British, who annexed the area in 1844. After the British annexation, huge numbers of

refugees flooded back to the area, their numbers rapidly swelling to 100,000, wishing to

make their homes there, now that the Zulu menace was eliminated. In 1845, Sir Theopilus

Shepstone was given the task of Native Administrator and set about creating various

settlements for them. These reserves were created for Blacks only, and run along traditional

tenure systems; all Blacks not needed as labourers on farms were moved there. A

segregated system of land tenure was therefore strictly maintained, with traditional systems

applying to Blacks, and freehold to Whites only. Blacks could earn the right to vote, but

few availed themselves of this privilege. Between 1848 and 1856, approximately 5000

British immigrants were settled in the area, and from 1860, Indians were imported from

India as indentured labourers for sugar cane farmers, because of the reluctance of the local

inhabitants to do manual labour. Initially, these Indians were not allowed to own any land in

the new Colony. In 1856, Natal became a Crown Colony, and received responsible

government only in 1893. In 1887, after the Zulu war, Zululand was annexed by Britain, and

a large part of its coastal area made over to White farmers. In 1897, it was annexed to

Natal, on condition that the existing system of land tenure be maintained for five years, with

no grants of land made; a Commission was to be appointed to identify sufficient and

inalienable reserves for the Zulus.

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3. THE ORANGE FREE STATE

Because of the ravages of the Matabele, the Ngwane, the Hlubi and the Batlokwa during the

Mfecane, the area between the Orange and Vaal Rivers was almost deserted when the

Voortrekkers arrived there in 1836. After the arrival of the Voortrekkers had removed these

threats, King Mosheshwe of the South Sotho laid claim to this area, resulting in clashes over

land with him, as well as with Adam Kok of the Griquas in the south western region. In 1843,

the British intervened, and established three treaty states with Adam Kok, Mosheshwe and

Faku of the Pondo, to act as buffers between the Cape Colony and the Voortrekkers. This

policy was reversed in 1848, when the entire area was annexed as a British Colony. Conflict

with the Boers followed, and in 1854 the area was recognised as an independent Boer

Republic through the Bloemfontein Convention. The new Boer government decided to

retain the area exclusively for Whites, and Blacks were prohibited from purchasing or

renting land in it. The Thaba Nchu and Witzieshoek areas were, however, recognised as

independent Black states, with their own governments. After the Basotho war of 1865 –

1867, Witzieshoek was annexed, but left as a reserve under Black rule, and in 1884, similar

steps were taken regarding Thaba Nchu.

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4. THE TRANSVAAL

In November 1837, the Voortrekkers under the leadership of Andries Potgieter and Piet Uys,

defeated the Matabele under Mzilikazi (known to the Boers as “Silkaat”), and drove him

across the Limpopo. They then laid claim to the area formerly under his control, which

included most of the present North-West Province and Gauteng, as well as a substantial part

of Limpopo Province. This formed the nucleus of their new Boer state. After the expulsion

of Mzilikazi, some of the tribes who had previously been expelled by him (the Moilwa,

Matlaba, Kwena and Kgatla) returned and were given land in agreed areas. Potgieter also

acquired land between the Vet and Vaal rivers from the Taung leader Makwana through

purchase, and added it to this area. In 1846, a purchase agreement was reached with the

Swazi King, whereby the area between the Olifants and Crocodile rivers was exchanged for

cattle; in 1855, a similar agreement was reached concerning the Lydenburg district. In the

same year, the Swazi King ceded a strip of land along the north bank of the Pongola River to

the new Republic, with the idea that a wedge of European settlers would give the Swazis

some protection against the much feared Zulu raids. All land acquired was vested in the

State, and the State made it available to White farmers either on a freehold or leasehold

basis. In 1852, through the Sand River Convention, the Transvaal was recognised by Britain

as an Independent Republic, known as the Zuid-Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR). In 1855, some

Boer farmers bought land from the Zulu king Mpande between the Buffalo and Blood rivers;

this was incorporated into the ZAR as the districts of Wakkerstroom and Utrecht in 1859. In

1853, a resolution of the National Assembly gave the Commandant-General and the

Commandants of each district of the Republic the responsibility for allocating land to Blacks,

where needed for occupation (not ownership) by them. In 1858 it was decreed that Whites

were not allowed to own land where a black tribe was settled. The ZAR government

recognised traditional systems of government and land tenure, and therefore followed a

strict policy of territorial segregation.

The Convention of Pretoria in 1881, at the termination of the First Boer War, set up the

Location Commission, with the task of identifying reserves for the various Black population

groups. Reserves had to be allocated as far as was possible where Black communities were

already settled, and 5 hectares per household was set as a guideline. Such land was held by

the Location Commission in trust for these communities. Although individual Blacks were

not allowed to own land, many nevertheless purchased land through third parties, such as

missionary societies. By the time of the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, there

were 45 such reserves in the ZAR. During the last decades of the 19th century, clashes

between the ZAR and the Pedi, as well as the Ndzundze-Ndebele, in Mpumalanga and with

the Venda in Limpopo, led to further land being acquired in these areas.

After the British occupation of the Transvaal and Free State at the end of the Second Boer

War, Lord Milner appointed the Lagden Commission to “arrive at a common understanding

on questions of Native Policy”. The report of this Commission in 1905 recommended that

the areas reserved for Black occupation be finalised and Whites not be permitted to

purchase land there; that in future, Blacks only be allowed to purchase land in certain

identified areas, and that such purchase not be permitted for communal tenure. It also

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recommended that Blacks should preferably be allowed on White farms only as labourers.

As a result of the Commission’s report, additional land was allocated for Black reserves in

the Transvaal and Free State.

In 1909, the South Africa Act was passed by Westminister, and this became the first

constitution of the new Union in 1910. In terms of this, all Black tribes were placed under

the control of central Government, although Britain could veto any of its resolutions, and so

retain ultimate responsibility. The Governor-General in Council would preserve in trust all

land allocated to the various Black groups. The qualified franchise for Blacks in the Cape was

entrenched in terms of Section 35 (1).

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EVALUATION OF LAND TENURE IN SOUTH AFRICA PRIOR TO 1913

The reality of South Africa is that two thirds of its land surface is semi-desert, and receives

less than 500mm of rain per annum. Because of its arid and erratic climate, nearly all of this

vast area was, up until the eighteenth century, occupied only by nomadic groups of San

hunter-gatherers, as well as wild animals. The San were displaced in these areas by only two

other ethnic groups: the Whites through the Trekboere and later the Voortrekkers, and the

Griqua in the Griqualand West area. Today this area constitutes roughly 70% to 75% of the

land occupied by White commercial farmers; only the San people have a legitimate claim to

it, and these people effectively no longer exist. No other ethnic group, with the exception of

the Griqua in some areas, therefore has a better claim to this ground than the existing White

commercial farmers.

Prior to 1913, there was racial exclusivity over land ownership in three of the four regions

that would later become the Provinces of the Union of South Africa. The cause of this is

rooted in the two very different cultural perceptions that existed concerning land between

Blacks and Whites. The Europeans, having passed through the feudal into the industrial era

perceived the advantages of private ownership of land. It was the main driving force which

enabled farms to become commercialised, and to produce the surpluses necessary for

feeding populations that were growing and becoming increasingly urbanised. On the other

hand, Black traditional farming methods, based on nomadic pastoralism and an abundance

of land and resources, did not envisage the need for production of surpluses on any large

scale. Private ownership of land (as opposed to personal moveable assets) was therefore a

foreign concept, as occupation was determined by the clan grouping through its leaders.

Essentially, this system is not too different from the feudal system in application throughout

Europe during the Middle ages. As a result of this duality of approach to land tenure, it was

inevitable that land use in South Africa was going to become segregated – more especially so

in the context of colonial Africa. It is an unfortunate fact that the one system threatens the

other: the communal approach does not recognise land ownership rights, and resents the

prosperity it generates, while the commercial approach means that land is an asset which

can be bought or sold and therefore can be removed from communal use and Tribal

Authority. Escalating land values, combined with greedy traditional leaders, meant that

there was a real and ongoing threat from commercial interests to land occupied by Blacks

under traditional systems. This is why, in almost all debates on the subject, the idea of areas

set aside for exclusive use by Blacks attracted support from prominent White liberals. The

fear was repeatedly expressed that, left to the open market, Blacks would become

increasingly landless, and their cultural values would therefore be destroyed.

Looking dispassionately at the history, there is also no doubt that the Mfecane caused very

large areas within the 30% arable zone of the country to become unoccupied or, at most,

severely depopulated. Information that land in such areas was available for occupation was

undoubtedly the main driving force behind the Great Trek. As has been pointed out, the

reality of South Africa is that roughly 70% of its surface area is unsuitable for permanent

agriculture and habitation, unless technology is available for the extraction of sub-surface

groundwater. Much of this type of land is in the Cape, from where the Voortrekkers

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emanated. It is, moreover, unlikely that they would have risked taking their families and

livestock into areas that were already visibly occupied by rival and potentially hostile groups.

All historical accounts make it clear that the central plateaux of South Africa, as well as the

southern area of Natal, were largely unoccupied at the time, and so available for use by

nomadic groups. In taking advantage of the situation, the Voortrekkers and the Trekboers

before them, were simply applying an age-old African tradition of making use of an

unutilised asset. Before them, every indigenous inhabitant of the continent had been doing

the same thing, and an ethnically selective approach should therefore not be applied here.

On the other hand, the expulsion of Mzilikazi’s Matabele from the Gauteng area and the

seizure of his land was undoubtedly an act of war. This, however, was not unusual at the

time, and Mzilikazi himself had undoubtedly obtained this land by the same means. In fact,

the history of South Africa shows clearly that every ethnic group, with the exception of the

San and Khoi people, had ultimately obtained land in the country by the same means. The

Mfecane of the nineteenth century provided many good examples of Black land seizures

through acts of war: today, nobody questions the rights of occupation of their descendants

upon this basis.

Much land, too, was purchased or bartered from clan leaders by Whites during the

nineteenth century. At the time, it was clearly understood by both parties that this meant

occupation of the land by White farmers. Although the nature of the rights transferred

would probably not have been interpreted the same by both parties, this cannot nullify the

original transaction. In some cases, it is not clear whether the clan ruler had jurisdiction

over the particular piece of land sold, bartered or ceded, because boundaries between Black

groups were undefined and therefore vague. However, such transactions were probably

done on the basis of best information available, according to perceptions at the time, so

must be accepted as bona fide.

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THE 1913 NATIVES LAND ACT

The fledgling South African government inherited a system wherein each of its four new

Provinces had its own legal dispensation. Union legislation allowed each Province to apply

its own Native policy, and since there were relatively few Black people in the Orange Free

State and the Cape, white farmers there experienced a shortage of labour. In 1912, J.B.M.

Hertzog was appointed as Minister of both Justice and Native Affairs. Hertzog was of the

opinion that a policy of equality in the Cape model would bring misfortune to the Blacks,

while causing the Whites to fear an uncertain future. He was convinced that racial

segregation, as practised in the other three Provinces, needed to be maintained. His views

should be assessed against the background of the time: the whole of Africa was ruled by

European powers, and relations between the races were motivated by the perceived need

to “civilise” and “develop” the indigenous people. South Africa, in particular, had recently

experienced a devastating war between the two White race groups, and reconciliation

between them, as well as reconstruction of the Country, were seen as much more important

issues than “Native” affairs. The demographics of the new nation at the time were also

vitally significant, and the 1911 census gave the following statistics:

Whites 1,276,000 (21.4%)

Black Africans 4,019,000 (67.2%)

Coloureds 525,000 ( 8.8%)

Asians 152,000 ( 2.6%)

TOTAL 5,973,000

For its surface area, the population of the Country was sparse, and the Whites comprised a

relatively sizeable portion of the total. The Bill tabled by Hertzog in 1913 was largely based

on the recommendations of the Lagden Commission of 1905, and reflected the situation

being applied in three of the four Provinces (i.e. in Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange Free

State). Section one provided that Blacks could not purchase, hire or otherwise acquire any

land outside scheduled Black areas, while Whites could not do so within those areas.

Section 4 empowered the Governor-General, on the recommendation of Parliament and

dependant on the availability of funds, to purchase further areas for Black settlement. This

Act also provided that no further sharecropping agreements could be concluded, although

existing agreements would remain enforceable. This did not affect labour tenants, as these

were regarded as farm labourers. The Act also recognised that the area designated for Black

settlement needed to be expanded, and Section 2 provided that, when the Act was passed,

the Governor-General had to appoint a Commission to determine which additional areas

had to be reserved for the Black and other population groups of South Africa. A report in

this regard had to be submitted within two years of the passing of the Act.

Importantly, Section 8 (2) of the Act provided, that nothing in the Act “which imposes

restrictions upon the acquisition by any person of land or right thereto, interests therein, or

servitudes thereover, shall be in force in the Province of the Cape of Good Hope...” The

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Cape which covered roughly 55% of the surface of the new country, was therefore excluded

from the provisions of the Act.

The SANNC (forerunner to the ANC) attempted to stop the passage of the Act by imploring

Lord Gladstone, the Governor-General, not to sign it. Lord Gladstone stated that this was

not within his constitutional rights. A subsequent delegation to the British parliament was

met with the reply from the Colonial Secretary that the Act did not contain anything new,

and was the outcome of the report of the Lagden Commission obtained by Lord Milner

several years before. Other Black organisations, such as the S.A. Races Congress, as well as

the Editor of the Black newspaper IMVO, gave their support to the Bill, but objected to the

small area of land set aside for exclusive Black use.

The Act was steamrollered through Parliament in great haste, in order to pacify the Hertzog

faction both inside and outside Parliament.

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EVALUATION OF THE 1913 NATIVES LAND ACT

As has been stated, this Act only applied to roughly 45% of the country, since the Cape was

excluded from its provisions. In total it set aside 10.5million morgen for exclusive use by

Blacks, which amounted to 7.5% of the land surface area. However, the land was generally

of very good quality, because, with the exception of some reserves within the area formerly

known as British Bechuanaland, all of it was within the 30% high rainfall arable portion of

the Country. There is little doubt that, with the application of proper farming methods, this

could have supported the total Black population living in the reserves at that time. Through

the years this Act has been presented by political propagandists as a monstrous and

oppressive piece of legislation, yet it did little other than reflect the realities of the time, in

view of the fact that all four Provinces (including the Cape) had already set aside certain

areas for exclusive use by Blacks. The problem lay in its rigid application of racial exclusivity

over roughly 45% of the Country; but this was not new, and simply codified the existing

position in those areas. Furthermore, it specifically left the door open for expansion of these

exclusively Black areas. The main reason why this occurred so slowly was because it soon

became palpably obvious that ground was being utilised more productively and sustainably

in the White commercial farming areas than in the Black communal farming areas, and that

transferring the ground to communal farming soon destroyed its productive potential. This

problem persists today.

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THE WAY FORWARD

Unfortunately, communal farming is unsustainable unless there is an abundance of natural

resources, and a low population, simply because the Law of the Commons dictates that

wherever an asset is shared, it is in the interests of each individual within that community to

consume as much for himself as quickly as possible, failing which other members of the

community will do so. This results in the destruction of the asset.

There have been many attempts over the years to create and foster Black commercial

farmers within the communal areas; the Glen Grey Act was one of the first examples of this.

Thus far all have failed, and this remains an on-going challenge today.

As has been pointed out, more than 70% of the White commercial farming area is within the

arid regions of the country, where there is limited potential for growth, and which is also

completely unsuitable for traditional communal farming methods. South Africa is now an

industrialised country in the 21st Century, with a rapidly expanding urban population, and

escalating food requirements. In order to supply this demand, attention needs to be given

to expanding the commercial farming sector in South Africa – particularly emerging Black

commercial farmers. Reform in the communal farming areas is therefore an inevitable

requirement for the future, as most of the unutilised agricultural potential of the Country is

within those areas. As has been stated, they form a large proportion of the limited arable

land (30% zone) of the Country. Unfortunately, until the problems concerning the dual

nature of tenure systems within this country is resolved, the issues which the 1913 Natives

Land Act sought to address will remain unresolved.

In conclusion, there is little point in fostering a debate between the races of this country

concerning perceptions of historical events. Few of the role players that were involved at the

time remain alive today, and therefore cannot explain their actions. The final Constitution of

the Republic of South Africa, adopted by consensus between all political parties, was

designed to deal with land issues into the future. We should therefore not allow ourselves to

go backwards by gazing obsessively at past events; instead, we must plan for tomorrow.

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REFERENCES

Disputed Land L. Changuian & B. Steenkamp

(Protea Book House, 2012)

The South African Economy D. Hobart Houghton

(Oxford University Press, 1973)

Lost Trails of the Transvaal T.V. Bulpin

(T.V. Bulpin, 1974)

Natal and the Zulu Country T.V. Bulpin

(T.V.Bulpin, 1977)

Hill of Destiny P. Bekker

(Panther Books, 1972)

Path of Blood P. Becker

(London, 1962)

Shaka Zulu E.A. Ritter

(Panther Books, 1967)

Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa W.J. Burchell (2 vols) (C.Struik, 1967)

Travel and Adventure in South-East Africa F.C. Selous

(Books of Rhodesia, 1994)

Karoo L.G. Green

(Howard Timmins, 1955)

History of South Africa (Vol 8) G.M. Theal

(Cape Town, 1964)

1913 Natives Land Act, No 27 of 1913 (Extraordinary Government Gazette of the Union

of South Africa No. 380)

A Preliminary Survey of the Bantu Tribes of South Africa N.J van Warmelo (Ethnological Publications, 1935)

Travels and Adventures in Southern Africa George Thompson (Van Riebeeck Society, Cape Town, 1967)