No Concessions For Africans, Says Maree

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29177, 11 April 1960, Page 15

No Concessions For Africans, Says Maree

JOHANNESBURG, April 9. Neither the attitude of the outside world nor the terrorism of a handful of agitators would force South Africa to make concessions at this stage to Africans, the Minister of Bantu Education (Mr W. A. Maree) told a Republican rally at Mooi river, Transvaal, today.

“If a concession were made about reference books (passes) today, it would be work reservation and group areas and other matters the next day and would eventually lead to a total sacrifice of state authority,” he said. The Minister said it was clear to him that the whole basis of the present trouble was not the demands of the black man to the white man but the methods of groups of Communistic people who sought to undermine the authority of the State, create chaos and in that way overthrow

democracy in South Africa. The State, he said, would have to find means of saving peaceloving Africans from'the clutches of a group of unscrupulous adventurers.

Restrictions would have to be placed on some municipalities who accommodated more Africans than were really necessary in a desire to encourage industrial development, Mr Maree said. “We will have to make clear in future that peace and good order in the country and the existence of the white man here are more important that the are more important than the for industrialists,” he said. He said time was running out for South Africa. Instead of implementing the Government’s Bantustan policy (of separate, viable and semi-autonomous allAfrican regions) over the next 50 or 100 years- it had to be done in the next 10 years. African areas had to be developed as fast as possible to give a livelihood to the black man in his own areas, thus decreasing his number in white areas.

To do this, white people would have to make sacrifices, even if they w,ere very great sacrifices. The recent aisturbances would not lead to any change of policy in South African external affairs, the External Affairs Minister (Mr Louw) said in a radio interview last night. “Some details of that policy may be changed such as the reference books system—in which certain small changes have been made—but the basis of policy will remain unchanged,” he said. Mr Louw was speaking over the 8.8. C.. He was interviewed earlier yesterday in Cape Town. Mr Louw said his party would not “hand over control of South Africa to a black majority.” Asked if the Nationalists would not have to come to terms with the black majority, Mr Louw replied: “Yes. We are developing native areas and gradually increasing their powers to full internal self-government.” Asked what were the main grievances of the native in urban areas, Mr Louw said “He has no grievances. He has had some in the past over housing and so on but these are being overcome.” He said the emergency was nearly over. “Everything is calm. There may be a few incidents but the main trouble is over,” he said.