Government Attempts to Reform Apartheid (Grade 12 NSC Matric History): Revision Notes
Government Attempts to Reform Apartheid
Why reform became necessary by the 1980s
By the late 1970s, South Africa's economy and society faced a serious crisis that forced the apartheid government to consider making changes to survive. The system that was designed to keep black people out of "white" South Africa was no longer working effectively.
The government found itself caught between contradictory pressures: the need for economic growth requiring black workers in urban areas, while apartheid ideology demanded their exclusion from white areas.
Economic contradictions that forced change
The economic contradictions of apartheid became impossible to ignore by 1980. Here's what happened:
Industrial growth created new demands
- The rapid economic growth of the 1960s and early 1970s transformed South Africa into a modern industrial economy
- Manufacturing and mechanised commercial farming expanded significantly
- This new economy desperately needed more skilled workers, including black workers
Business pressure for reform
- Big business began pressuring the government to reform the harshest aspects of apartheid
- Companies needed access to black labour in urban areas
- The government started relaxing the pass laws and abandoned them completely in 1986
The pass laws were a cornerstone of apartheid control, requiring black South Africans to carry identity documents at all times and restricting their movement. Their abandonment represented a major shift in apartheid policy.
Massive urban migration resulted
- The relaxation of movement controls led to huge population shifts
- Between 1960-1980, the urban African population more than doubled
- The number of black Africans living in towns and cities increased from to
- This directly contradicted apartheid's goal of keeping black people in rural areas
This demographic shift represented a fundamental challenge to apartheid's spatial segregation policies. The system could no longer maintain the fiction of separate racial territories when nearly half of all black South Africans lived in urban areas.
Changes within Afrikaner politics
The economic pressures also created political divisions among white South Africans:
Business-friendly policies alienated traditional supporters
- PW Botha's government followed policies that helped big business but hurt Afrikaner workers and small farmers
- Many traditional National Party supporters felt abandoned
Conservative Party split (1982)
- Driven by fear of losing control and power, the white right-wing Conservative Party split from the National Party
- They opposed any reforms to apartheid
- This showed that even among whites, there was disagreement about how to handle the crisis
Growing black resistance and international pressure
Black labour and community resistance
The government faced increasing organised opposition:
- Growth of black trade unions after the 1973 strikes
- Youth movements became more organised and revolutionary
- Over 12,000 young people left the country to join MK (the ANC's military wing)
- Resistance was becoming more organised and coordinated
International developments
Several international factors increased pressure on South Africa:
- By 1980, liberation movements had replaced colonial governments in Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe
- The ANC and MK used these countries to infiltrate South Africa
- These movements enjoyed support from communist countries like the Soviet Union, East Germany and Cuba
- Western governments began considering economic sanctions to pressure South Africa to reform
- International sports boycotts were particularly effective, as sport was central to white South African identity
The sports boycotts were psychologically devastating for white South Africans, who took great pride in rugby and cricket. Being excluded from international competition hit at the heart of white identity and nationalism.
The government's response: Total Strategy
Facing all these pressures, the apartheid government developed a comprehensive response called Total Strategy.
Total Strategy Definition:
A policy designed by military generals who dominated PW Botha's government with the purpose to make apartheid more acceptable to some black people while ensuring white control remained. The plan combined limited reforms with continued repression to counter what they called the "total onslaught" from revolutionaries.
Key components of Total Strategy
Total Strategy included several important reforms:
- Reforming labour policies to suit industrial economy needs and improve conditions in black urban communities
- The 1982 Black Local Authorities Act
- The tri-cameral constitution of 1983
The 1982 Black Local Authorities Act
This act was an attempt to give black urban communities limited political participation:
What it created
- Elected Community Councils with administrative power over local community affairs and services
- These councils could make decisions about local issues like housing, education and health services
The government's strategy
- Officials hoped that giving black communities some control over local affairs would satisfy their political aspirations
- They believed people would not demand democratic rights at national level if they had local representation
- The government provided resources to upgrade townships, including electrification and housing programmes
Practical Example: How Community Councils Were Supposed to Work
A Community Council in Soweto might:
- Step 1: Be elected by local black residents
- Step 2: Control local services like waste collection and street lighting
- Step 3: Manage township housing allocations
- Step 4: Oversee local schools and clinics
The government hoped residents would be satisfied with this local control and not demand votes in national elections.
Why it failed
This strategy failed because it didn't address the fundamental issue of national political rights for black South Africans.
The tri-cameral constitution of 1983
In 1983, the government made a major constitutional change designed to win over Indian and coloured communities.
How the tri-cameral system worked
The constitution created three separate parliamentary assemblies:
- House of Assembly → elected by whites
- House of Delegates → elected by Indians
- House of Representatives → elected by coloureds
Limited power sharing
- Each assembly controlled the "own affairs" of their group (education, housing, health services)
- However, the white assembly retained power over everything else- police, army, foreign affairs and the economy
- PW Botha became President with increased executive power over government and military
How the Tri-cameral System Maintained White Control
Scenario: A proposed law about economic policy
Step 1: All three houses could debate the issue
Step 2: Each house voted separately\
Step 3: If houses disagreed, the white House of Assembly had final say
Step 4: The white President could override decisions from Indian and coloured houses
Result: The illusion of participation without real power sharing
Why it was rejected
- The tri-cameral constitution created the illusion of power sharing without giving up real control
- It deliberately excluded African people, who made up the majority of the population
- It convinced no one except the government and some white supporters
- Most Indians and coloureds rejected it as inadequate
Growing power of the trade union movement
One of the most significant developments was the growth of organised black labour:
The 1973 Durban strikes
- In 1973, mainly in Durban, over 60,000 black workers took part in 160 strikes
- Workers demanded better wages and working conditions
- The strikes were a spontaneous outburst of anger about low wages, rising living costs and workplace racism
Government response to labour unrest
- Business leaders and government officials realised they needed worker organisations they could negotiate with
- New laws were passed allowing black workers to form trade unions as long as they:
- Registered with the government
- Focused only on workplace issues
Unintended consequences
- The reforms were meant to control trade unions, but they also created space for workers to learn independent organisation skills
- While black university students were mobilising around Black Consciousness, white democratic student organisations helped establish strong, independent and non-racial trade unions
- These unions became powerful forces for broader political change
This represents a classic example of how apartheid reforms often backfired. By trying to control black workers through regulated unions, the government inadvertently created platforms for political organisation and resistance.
Assessment tip
When answering questions about government reforms, remember to explain both what the government hoped to achieve and why these reforms ultimately failed. The key point is that these were attempts to preserve white control while making minimal concessions to growing pressure.
Key Points to Remember:
- Economic growth by 1980 created contradictions - apartheid needed black workers in "white" areas, undermining its core principles
- Total Strategy combined limited reform with repression - the government tried to make apartheid more acceptable without losing control
- The 1982 Black Local Authorities Act gave blacks limited local political participation but excluded them from national power
- The 1983 tri-cameral constitution included Indians and coloureds but deliberately excluded Africans, creating the illusion of power sharing
- Labour law reforms allowed black trade unions but tried to control them - however, this created space for independent worker organisation that became a powerful force for change