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In practice this meant that jobs for whites would be better paid than those of blacks.
The government encouraged businesses to employ whites, and punished them if they failed to do so. In the allocation of contracts the state gave preference to concerns employing whites only. In the case of many business concerns this meant that unschooled black labourers were replaced by poor whites.
The government instructed the civil service to replace “uncivilised labour” with “civilised labour”, especially in the railways, that became the biggest employer of white labour.
In 1930 the population figures were as follows:
| White population | 1 801 000 |
| Black population | 5 585 000 |
| Whites in manufacturing | 91 024 |
| Blacks in manufacturing | 90 517 |
In 1934 the Nationalist Party and the South African Party joined forces to form the United Party.
The rapid urbanisation of blacks and the steep rise in numbers increased existing pressure on the government to recall the black vote in the Cape Province. The Act on Native Representation that was promulgated in 1936, recalled the black vote.
At the same time the Native’s Trust and Land Act made provision for more land to be bought for the reserves. The reserves now made up 13,5% of the total land surface of the Union of South Africa.
In 1937 the Native Laws Amendment Act in fact forbade blacks from rural areas to go and look for work in the cities.
j) The economic impact of the Second World War
The war was responsible for a turning point in the South African economy. Enormous amounts of warfare material were needed to furnish the South African troops. This was an incentive for the government to manufacture a wide range of goods themselves. Large industrial government concerns such as the Railways, the mines, the Mint and Iscor made a significant switch to the production of material for warfare.
Eventually South Africa supplied not only its own forces, but also its allies with weaponry, amongst others anti-tankguns, ammunition, (18 million rounds of ammunition per month), mortar bombs, gun supplies, etc.
Various private firms were also encouraged to adapt their facilities for the manufacturing of war supplies.
At the time South Africa switched its mining economy to a mainly manufacturing economy. Besides, because of the war it had become practically impossible to import goods such as mining equipment. The country had no choice but to manufacture whatever their industries needed.
After the war the South African manufacturing industry was not only in a position to manufacture consumer goods on a large scale, but also to build its own machinery for this purpose.
This major industrial expansion during the war years took place while many schooled white labourers were serving in the army. As a consequence black and Coloured labourers replaced the whites. Women of all races were also increasingly allowed to enter the labour market.
k) The general elections of 1948
The Nationalist Party came into power with a small minority of five seats. Under the leadership of Dr. D.F. Malan, the prime minister, the South African society was reorganised according to the ideals of Afrikaner nationalism.
| Learning Outcomes(LOs) |
| LO 2 |
| SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTThe learner will be able to demonstrate an understanding of sustainable growth, reconstruction and development, and to reflect critically on related processes. |
| Assessment Standards(ASs) |
| We know this when the learner: |
| 2.1 collects information on the influence of apartheid economic policies on ownership , poverty , wealth and quality . |
| 2.2 identifies steps required to redress socio-economic imbalances and poverty. |
Add the four population figures together = 5 899 000
Activity 2
Total number of qualified voters = 619 900
Activity 3
____
100% = 18 600 white mine-workers
1% = 18 600 divided by 100 = 186 white mine-workers
18% = 186 white mine-workers x 18% = 3 348 white South Africans
82% = 186 white immigrants x 82% = 15 252 white immigrants
Activity 4
21% + 16.2% + 7.8% = 45%
45% = R537 000 000,00
1% = R11 933 333,00
Gross domestic product: Total monetary worth of these sectors in one year.
Activity 5
Total of white and black population:
Total of Whites and Blacks in the manufacturing industry:
A quarter of the population was white and they filled half the jobs in the manufacturing industry. Ask the learners to discuss the following: “What percentage of the employees was “civilised labour” and what percentage was “uncivilised labour”? According to the government policy the white employees would be considered to be “civilised” labour, and the black employees as “uncivilised” labour.
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