The Union of South Africa came into existence in 1910, with the amalgamation of the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, the British Cape Colony, and the Colony of Natal. This ended the struggle between Afrikaners and English-speaking South Africans, but also threw into stark relief the broader problem of relations between the black majority and the governing white minority. Whites comprise a little less than 20 percent of the population of South Africa, and their attempts to maintain their political power, while avoiding bloodshed, have raised a series of problems that have plagued the country--indeed the entire region--for virtually all of this century.
Blacks and whites in South Africa continue to live in the shadow of upheaval and racial violence. Lately, though, there have been some hopeful signs, not the least of which is the Indaba (Zulu for convention) that began in April in the province of Natal.
Natal is a racially heterogeneous territory with a population that is more than 50 percent black but contains sizable minorities of Asians, whites, and coloreds (these are the official racial designations used in South Africa). Natal is run by a white-controlled provincial government, but geographically includes KwaZulu, the largest and most important of all the black homelands. KwaZulu accounts for more than one-third of the province's land mass.
The leadership of Natal and that of KwaZulu parallel each other but have heretofore been kept strictly separate--one government for whites, another for blacks, even within the narrow geographical confines of the small province. Now both have sent representatives to the Indaba for the purpose of working out a new provincial constitution, with a nonracially-based legislature and guarantees for the protection of minority rights. For almost the first time in South African history, blacks and whites are coming together to try to find a mutually satisfactory, peaceful resolution to their problems.
The smallest of the original four provinces of South Africa, Natal is tucked away on the east coast near the Indian Ocean. Approximately 20 percent of South Africa's total population lives in Natal, including more than 80 percent of all South Africa's Asians. The province is relatively wealthy, as it has major coal deposits and produces 90 percent of the nation's sugar. And its major city, Durban, is the foremost port in Africa in terms of cargo handled. Durban alone accounts for about 15 percent of South Africa's total gross industrial output.
The staring point of the current negotiations was the report of the Buthelezi Commission, which was presided over by the chief minister of KwaZulu, Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Professor Lawrence Schlemmer, of the University of Natal, served as the organizing secretary of the commission and produced some of the studies on which the final report was based. Norman Antokol, a professor of history and political science who is currently serving in the Foreign Service as a political officer, interviewed Schlemmer for THE WORLD & I about the constitutional discussions of the constitutional discussions of the Indaba and their potential impact on the political future of South Africa.
Q: How would you characterize the present political structure of Natal?
A: Natal
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