History of Migration in South Africa - Yola

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CHAPTER4

Historicalbackgroundto SouthAfricanmigration

MarieWentzelandKholadiTlabela

Thischaptercontainsahistoricaloverviewofcross-bordermigrationtoSouthAfrica (thatis,migrationfromMozambique,Zimbabwe,Lesotho,Swaziland,Botswanaand NamibiatoSouthAfrica),aswellasahistoricalperspectiveoninternalmigration withinthecountry. ThenumberofmigrantscomingtoSouthAfrica,particularlythoseoriginatingfrom theAfricancontinent,hasincreasedsincetheearly1990s,andmoresoafterthefirst democraticelectionsin1994.ThesemigrantscameprimarilyfromSouthAfrica's traditionallaboursupplyareas,whichincludecountriesoftheSouthernAfrican DevelopmentCommunity(SADC),forexampleMozambique,Zimbabwe,Lesotho andMalawi.However,migrantshavealsocomefromotherAfricancountriessuchas Nigeria,theDemocraticRepublicoftheCongo,andKenya.Itiswidelyacceptedthat theflowofmigrantsfromtheSADCcountriesandbeyondhasgrownremarkablyin arelativelyshortperiodoftime. Drawingontheliterature,threestreamsofmovementtoSouthAfricafrom neighbouringcountriesareidentified:contractminemigration,othercategoriesof voluntarymigration,andrefugeemigration.Thesearediscussedinthefirstsection ofthischapter. Thepost-apartheidpolitical,socialandeconomicchangesofthe1990sbrought aboutsomechangesinSouthAfrica'sinternalmigrationpatterns.Somedimensions ofinternalmigrationdonothavethesamerelevancetheyhadinthepast,while othersareprobablycontinuinginspiteofthechangesthathavetakenplace.New trendscanalsobeobserved.Tounderstandthesetrends,ananalysisofthehistorical contextisofparticularrelevance.Inthesecondsectionofthischapter,ahistorical perspectiveofinternalmigrationinSouthAfricaisthusgiven,andissuessuchas migrationtourbanareas,thegovernment'smeasurestocontrolmigrationtothe cities,andthegovernment'sresponsestoAfricanurbanisationarediscussed.Finally, inthethirdsectionsomeconcludingremarksaregiven.

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Cross-bordermigration

Contractminemigration

E a r ly l a b o u r m i g r at i o n MigrationisbynomeansanewphenomenoninsouthernAfrica.Duringthelatter halfofthenineteenthcenturythediscoveryofdiamondsandgold,coupledwith theaccompanyingindustrialisation,luredthousandsofmigrantlabourersfromthe southernAfricanregiontotheminingandindustrialcentresofSouthAfrica.

However,thediscoveryofdiamondsandgoldwasnotthebeginningoflabour migrationintheregion.Bythetimeofthediscoveryandminingofdiamondsin theKimberleyareainthelate1860s,asystemoflabourmigrationhadalreadybeen established.Bapedimen,fromSekhukhuneland(whichcoverspartsofLimpopo andMpumalangaProvinces)hadworkedonfarmsandpublicworksintheCape Colonyasearlyasthe1840s,andthishadincreasedinthesubsequentthreedecades. InthesameperiodmanyBasothowereworkingonfarmsintheOrangeFreeState. AccordingtoDelius(1983),theBapediparticipatedinmigrantlabourmainlyto obtaincashtobuyrifles,sincetheywereexperiencingexternalmilitarythreats (fromtheZulusandSwazis,aswellasfromthecolonists),andforhuntingpurposes. Theyalsowantedmoneytousefor`bridewealth'(lobola)andtobuyagricultural implements.TheBasothomainlyparticipatedinlabourmigrationtoenablethem tobuygunsandagriculturalimplements,althoughtheimportancetheyplacedon bridewealthshouldnotbeunderestimated(Turrell1987:22).

Sincethe1850stheTsonga(alsoknownastheShangaan)hadbeentravellingfrom theDelagoaBayareatoNataltoworkforwages,andinthe1860sMozambicans (fromtheGaza,InhambaneandLouren?oMarquesdistricts)workedasseasonal workersonfarmsintheWesternCape(Katzenellenbogen1982:37).Writingabout migrationtothediamondfieldsinKimberley,Turrell(1987:23)observesthatthe Tsongaworkersmigratedtoengageinlabourmigrationduetoanumberoffactors thatimpactedontheirruraleconomy.Examplesofsuchfactorswerethehuntingoutofgame,theredirectionofthetraderoutesandthepresenceofthePortuguese colonialpowerintheirarea.Wagelabourthusemergedasameansofimproving ayoungman'sstandingwithinthewebofkinshiprelationsand,inordertoearn wagesforbridewealthandconsumergoods,theTsongamenparticipatedinwage labour.

TheopeningoftheKimberleydiamondfieldsin1870createdahugedemandfor unskilledlabour.Asaresult,largenumbersofworkersstreamedtothediamond mines.By1874therewereapproximately10000Africanmineworkersonthese mines.Themajorityofthemweremigrantlabourers,workingontheminesfor periodsofthreetosixmonths(VanderHorst1971:77).Althoughmigrantworkers camefromalloversouthernAfrica,theBapedi,TsongaandBasothowerebyfar themajorityonthediamondfields.Apparentlythereasonforthisdominancewas thatallthreegroupshadalreadybeeninvolvedinmigrantlabourpriorto1870,as indicatedpreviously(Turrell1987:21).

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Thechangeinminingmethodsfromopencasttoundergroundextractioninthe early1880screatedaneedforastable,skilledlabourforce.Toachievethis,the Kimberleymineownersprovidedhousingformineworkersinclosedcompounds (Turrell1987:149?150).Byintroducingcompoundsonthediamondfields,mine ownersensuredacontinuous,controlledandcheaplabourforce.Besidestheobvious short-termbenefitsforthemineowners,therewerealsolong-termeconomic andpoliticaladvantages.Overtime,migrantlabourersbecameexperiencedyet affordableworkers,butvariousstatutesandregulationspreventedtheestablishment ofanorganisedblackworkingclassinwhiteurbanareas.Thispatternoflarge-scale utilisationofcheaplabour,andthecontroloflabourbymeansofpasslawsandthe compounds,wasthebeginningofasystemthatdominatedmigrantlabourinSouth Africaformorethanacentury(Wessels&Wentzel1989:6?7).

In1886goldwasdiscoveredontheWitwatersrand.Thisledtotheestablishmentof themigrantlaboursystemonamuchlargerscalethaninKimberley.Sincegoldreefs inSouthAfricanminesareverydeepandtheoregradeislow,productioncostsare quitehigh.Consequently,strongcapitalreservesandadequatecheaplabourwere necessarytomakeminingaviablebusiness.Anadequatesupplyofcheaplabourwas obtainedthroughthelaunchofaveryextensiverecruitmentcampaign,especiallyin neighbouringcountries.Limitedworkingopportunitiesexistedintheneighbouring countriesandthereforeforeignlabourerswerewillingtoworkforalowerwagethan SouthAfricanlabourerswere(VanderHorst1971).

In1896theSouthAfricanChamberofMinesestablishedtheRandNativeLabour Association,toco-ordinatetherecruitmentoflabourersandeliminatecompetition. Followingitsrestructuringin1900,theAssociationwasrenamedtheWitwatersrand NativeLabourAssociation(WNLA),whichlaterbecamepopularlyknownas Wenela.However,sinceindependentrecruitersandrecruitingcompaniesremained activeinthefield,neithertheWNLAnoritssuccessor,theNativeRecruiting Corporation,couldachievealabourrecruitmentmonopoly(Jeeves1985:13).In 1912theChamberofMinesonceagainattemptedtoco-ordinatelabourrecruitment byestablishingtheNativeRecruitingCorporation(NRC)toorganiserecruitingin SouthAfricaandtheprotectorates,namelyBechuanaland(thepresentBotswana), Basotholand(Lesotho)andSwaziland(Wilson1972:3).TheWNLA,however, continuedtorecruitinPortugueseEastAfrica(Mozambique)whereithada recruitmentmonopoly.ItalsorecruitedworkersfortheSouthAfricanminesinthe `TropicalTerritories'ofNyasaland(Malawi)andinNorthernRhodesia(Zambia). By1920,theNRC/WNLAhadeliminatedallcompetitionintherecruitmentof minelabourers.Recruitingstationswereestablishedthroughouttheregionand moderntransportsystems(road,rail,ferry,andeventuallyair)weresetuptorecruit mineworkers(Crush2000:14).

Between1890and1899thetotalnumberofAfricansemployedonthegoldmines rosefromapproximately14000to97000.Althoughlabourersfromallover southernAfricaandfurtherafieldwenttothegoldmines,mostmineworkerscame fromtheformerPortugueseEastAfrica(VanderHorst1971:136).Ontheeveofthe Anglo-BoerWar(1899?1902)about60percentoftheunskilledlabourersonthe goldmineswereMozambicans.AlabouragreementbetweentheZuidAfrikaansche Republiek(ZAR)andtheauthoritiesinPortugueseEastAfricawassignedin1897 andwasoperativeformorethanacentury(Jeeves1985:187?188).SincePortuguese

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EastAfricawasdeemedaveryimportantlaboursupplyarea,the1897labour agreementwasreconfirmedin1901?evenbeforetheendoftheAnglo-BoerWar ?bythesigningoftheso-calledModusVivendibetweenBritishofficialsandthe PortugueseauthoritiesinMozambique(VanderHorst1971:161).

Whydidmenmigrate,sometimesoververylongdistances,toworkinmineson theWitwatersrand?AccordingtoKatzenellenbogen(1982:37?38),itwasbecause theyneededtoearnmoney,andontheminestheycouldsecurethehighestwages. Cashwasneededbecauseofchangesintheeconomicstructuresofcommunities. Furthermore,colonialtaxationpracticesandforcedlabourlawscontributedtothe movementofpeople.Itwasalsoimportanttoearncashtopaylobola.Africanmen werealsofrequentlyencouragedtomigratebytheirchiefswho,inmanyinstances, co-operatedwithrecruitingagentswhopaidthemafeeforeachrecruit.

Suppliercountries:1920?1990

Duringtheperiod1920?1990,virtuallyeverycountryintheSADCregionatone timeoranothersentmigrantstoworkontheSouthAfricanmines.Crush(1997a) identifiesthreetypesofsupplyingcountries: ? long-standingsupplycountriessuchasMozambique,Botswana,Lesothoand

Swaziland; ? episodicsupplycountriessuchasMalawiandZimbabwe; ? occasionalsupplycountriessuchasZambia,TanzaniaandAngola.

FormanydecadesMozambicanswerethemainsourceoflabourontheSouth Africanmines.Asmentionedearlier,alabouragreementbetweentheZARandthe authoritiesintheformerPortugueseEastAfricawasalreadysignedin1897.Other labouragreementsfollowed.WhenMozambiquegainedindependencein1975the labouragreementsbetweenSouthAfricaandMozambiquewereleftunchanged.In Novemberofthatyear,thenumberofMozambicanmineworkersreachedahigh of127000.However,inthemid-1970s,inresponsetoincreasingunemployment withinthecountry,theSouthAfricanauthoritiesstartedtoimplementapolicy ofpreferentialemploymentofSouthAfricanworkersonthemines.This,aswell asotherfactors,resultedinadrasticdeclineinthenumberofrecruitedmigrant mineworkersfromMozambique.ByApril1977thenumberhadfallentoabout 35000,butitgraduallyincreasedthereafter(VanAswegen&Verhoef1982: 154?154).In1997theofficialfigureforin-serviceMozambicanworkersonthe SouthAfricanmineswasabout83000(DeVletter1998:12).Accordingtoamedia statementbytheDepartmentofLabour,about60000Mozambicanswereworking onSouthAfricanminesin2003(DepartmentofLabour2003).

Ashasalreadybeenmentioned,workersfrompresent-dayLesotho,Botswana andSwazilandhadbeeninvolvedinlabourmigrationevenbeforethediscoveries ofdiamondsandgold.However,before1973,noofficiallabouragreementshad beensignedwiththesecountries.Labourrelationsandarrangementsbetweenthe SouthAfricanauthoritiesandtheseformerBritishHighCommissionTerritories weregovernedbytheinformalinter-territorialundertakingsthathadexistedsince colonialdays.In1973SouthAfricasignedbilaterallabouragreementswithboth BotswanaandLesotho.AsimilaragreementwithSwazilandfollowedin1975 (Breytenbach1979:17?25).

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Until1963therewasnostatutorydifferentiationbetweenAfricanworkersfrom Lesotho,BotswanaandSwaziland,andSouthAfrica'sindigenousAfricanworkers. Inthatyearthefirstmigratorylabourcontrolmeasures,differentiatingbetween workersfromtheHighCommissionTerritoriesandSouthAfricanworkers,came intoeffect.Sincethattime,workersfromtheTerritorieshavehadtocarrypassports andenterSouthAfricaviaborderposts.

Since1977LesothohasbeenthemainsupplieroflabourforSouthAfricanmines. In1990,about108000BasothoworkerswereemployedontheSouthAfricangold mines,withaslightdroptoabout100000in1995(Crush2000:15).However,since theearly1990sthenumbersofminersoverall,andfromLesothoinparticular,have fallenfairlyrapidly,duetomineclosuresandretrenchments.Thus,by2003the numberofworkersfromLesothoinSouthAfricanmineswasestimatedtobeabout 60000(Cobbe2004:3).

AlthoughworkersfromBotswanaandSwazilandhadalwaysworkedonSouth Africanmines,theywerenothereinlargenumbers(especiallywhencomparedto thenumbersfromcountriessuchasMozambiqueandLesotho).Forexample,in 1965about23600BatswanawereemployedontheSouthAfricangoldmines,and about12700in1995.In1990,17800SwaziswereworkingonSouthAfricangold minesand16700in1995(Crush2000:15).

InitiallySouthernRhodesia(laterRhodesiaandnowZimbabwe)prohibitedthe employmentofblackRhodesiansoutsidethecountry.Thispolicyresultedin numerousRhodesiansresortingtoclandestinemigrationtoSouthAfrica.By1966 between50000and75000blackRhodesianswereknowntobeemployedinSouth Africa.ThiscompelledSouthAfricaandRhodesiatoenterintoanagreement regardingadministrativearrangementsfortraveldocuments,recruitments, repatriations,portsofentryandsoon.ItwasagreedthatSouthAfricanemployers wouldnotrecruitblackRhodesians,althoughanemployercouldre-engagea personemployedpreviously.However,a1974agreementbetweentheRhodesian governmentandWNLAliftedtheprohibitionontherecruitmentofRhodesians forSouthAfricangoldmines(Breytenbach1979:32?33).AfterZimbabwegained itsindependencein1980,thegovernmentannouncedthatitwouldnotallowactive recruitmentofitscitizensforemploymentinSouthAfrica,althoughpeoplewould notbepreventedfromseekingortakingupemploymentinSouthAfrica(Whiteside 1988:20).

Asearlyas1904arrangementsweremadebetweenWNLAandthecolonial authoritiesinNyasalandregardingrecruitmentofworkersfortheSouthAfrican goldmines.Inthatyear5000MalawianswenttoworkontheSouthAfricanmines. In1913thegovernmentoftheUnionofSouthAfricaprohibitedtherecruitmentof anyAfricansfromareasnorthof22degreessouthlatitude,duetothehighmortality ratecausedbypneumoniaandotherlungdiseases.Thisbanontherecruitment oflabourersfromtheTropicalTerritorieswasliftedin1937(VanderHorst1971: 221).In1938anagreementwasformalisedbetweenWNLAandtheauthoritiesin NyasalandregardingtherecruitingandemploymentofworkersfromNyasalandon theSouthAfricanmines.ThelargestnumberofMalawiansworkinginSouthAfrica inanysingleyearwasin1973whentherewerealmost140000workers(Breytenbach 1979:30).However,afteraWNLAplanecrashin1974,inwhich72Malawian

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