Promotion of Bantu Self-government Act, 1959 explained

Short Title:	Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959
Long Title:	Act to provide for the gradual development of self-governing Bantu national units and for direct consultation between the Government of the Union and the said national units in regard to matters affecting the interests of such national units; to amend the Native Administration Act, 1927, the Native Trust and Land Act, 1936, and the Bantu Authorities Act, 1951, and to repeal the Representation of Natives Act, 1936; and to provide for other incidental matters.
Citation:	Act No. 46 of 1959
Enacted By:	Parliament of South Africa
Royal Assent:	17 June 1959
Date Commenced:	19 June 1959
Date Repealed:	27 April 1994
Administered By:	Minister of Bantu Administration and Development
Repealed By:	Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993
Related Legislation:	Bantu Authorities Act, 1951
Status:	repealed

The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959 (Act No. 46 of 1959, commenced 19 June; subsequently renamed the Promotion of Black Self-government Act, 1959 and later the Representation between the Republic of South Africa and Self-governing Territories Act, 1959) was an important piece of South African apartheid legislation that allowed for the transformation of traditional tribal lands into "fully fledged independent states Bantustans", which would supposedly provide for the right to self-determination of the country's black population. It also resulted in the abolition of parliamentary representation for black South Africans, an act furthered in 1970 with the passage of the Black Homeland Citizenship Act.

Background

The Act was designed to further the policy of so-called Grand Apartheid, meaning the permanent partition of South Africa into national "homelands" for each supposed "people" or nation.^[1] In this plan, the Afrikaners (indigenized Dutch) people would control the bulk of the country, while the African population was divided into eight peoples, defined according to language groups, that would have separate nation-states in areas unilaterally demarcated by the white regime. Each black "nation" was then provided with a Commissioner-General, who was entrusted with the development of its assigned Homeland into a fully self-governing state. Blacks were expected to exercise their political rights in these Homeland enclave states, not in the remainder of South Africa where white supremacy would continue and Afrikaner nationalism would be expressed.

Content of the Act

The following is a brief description of the sections of the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959:^[2]

Definitions and interpretation

Section 1Defines the explanations of keywords in the Act.

Section 2.1Defines the eight types of Bantu populations.

Section 2.2Defines the right of the Governor-General to commissioner-generals for each Bantu population type.

Section 2.3Defines that the rights of the commissioner-generals powers, functions and duties are defined in the Act.

Section 2.4Defines the commissioner-general employment period as five years or at the pleasure of the Governor-General, not hold another civil service or private position and reside at a place considered acceptable by the minister.

Section 3Defines the powers, function, and duties of the commissioner-general to represent the government with each Bantu population group or authority.

Section 4.1Defines the rights of the Minister with approval of the Governor-general to appoint a Bantu person to represent the population type.

Section 4.2Defines that the representative, after approval from the Governor-general, is the recognised representative for the region.

Section 4.3Defines the Governor-general's right to withdraw recognition.

Section 5.1Defines the powers, function and duties of the Bantu representative recognised and appointed under section 4.

Section 5.2Defines that the representative appoint is deemed to be a headman in relation to the Native Administration Act, 1927 section 2(8).

Section 6Defines the amendments to the Native Administration Act, 1927 brought about by this Act.

Section 7Defines the insertions into section 4 of the Native Trust and Land Act, 1936, brought about by this Act, allowing the transfer of land by trusts as well as powers, functions, and duties in the former.

Section 8Defines the legislative powers of the Bantu authorities.

Section 9Defines the amendments to the definitions in section 1 in the Bantu Authorities Act 68, 1951.

Section 10Defines the word amendments in section 2(2) in the Bantu Authorities Act 68, 1951.

Section 11Defines the word amendments in section 5(1a) and section 7 in the Bantu Authorities Act 68, 1951.

Section 12Defines text for the new substitution for section 7 in the Bantu Authorities Act 68, 1951.

Section 13Defines text for the new substitution for section 7bis in the Bantu Authorities Act 68, 1951.

Section 14.1Defines the ability of the Governor-General to make regulations for the terms of office, remuneration, meeting attendance, etc., for a commissioner-general.

Section 14.2Defines that regulations may differ from one Bantu population group to the next.

Section 14.3Defines the penalties, fines or imprisonment for contravening or failing to comply with the said regulations.

Section 15Defines that the Representation of Natives Act, 1936 is repealed but has no effect on duly elected senators or members of the House of Assembly, between that Act and this acts commencement.

Section 16Defines the name of the Act.

Repeal

The Act was repealed by the Interim Constitution of South Africa on 27 April 1994.

References

1. Web site: 1959. Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act No 46 - The O'Malley Archives. omalley.nelsonmandela.org. 2020-02-03.
2. Web site: Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act . 7 July 2022 . Digital Innovation South Africa.