THE CARE OF NATIVES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19691, 18 July 1927, Page 14

THE CARE OF NATIVES.

NEW AFRICAN TOWNSHIP. CAPETOWN MUNICIPAL SCHEME. [FROM ODR OWN CORRESPONDENT. 3 CAPETOWN, June 15. The Capetown City Council is at present engaged upon the building of an entirely new complete native village, in which it hopes to accommodate from 5000 to 8000 natives. This village, which is situated about eight miles from the city, will cost when finished over a quarter of a million pounds and will be the biggest and most up-to-date native location in the whole of Africa. Operations have been in hand now for over three years and at last the principal roads have been laid out, the central buildings, houses and hostels erected, and what was once bare scrub and veld is now the nucleus of a large township. Langa—as the new village is called—is the outcome of a courageous and enlightened policy on the part of the Capetown City Council, but impetus has undoubtedly been given to the scheme by the fact that tho large numbers of male natives now housed in the town or drifting about have long constituted a potential menace to the civilised community. The township will include churches, a hospital, a public swimming bath, a school, a community hall, a bioscope, a refreshment room, recreation grounds, hostels for single native men and women and houses, with gardens, for married couples. Mr. G. P. Cook, who has been appointed superintendent of tho township, is, perhaps, the best man for tho position that could have been found in South Africa, lie comes to the Cape with a fine record from Bloemfontein, where for over ten years ho supervised what is considered to be a model location. The one weak spot in the scheme as at present laid down is that the rents will probably be more than the average native can easily afford to pay. To a native earning from £1 to 25s a week 7s is a large amount to pay for a couple of rooms for his family, especially as he will have to provide his train fare to and from the city every day. There is some agitation at the moment for a reduction of these rents and no doubt the City Council, which has taken so much care with the planning and building of this township and has pushed forward with the scheme in the face of no little opposition, will not take any risk of having the whole project ruined by the rent question.