25. As the first speaker of a Commonwealth country to participate in this debate since the tragic news was received of the death of the former Prime Minister of Ceylon, may I convey to the leader and members of the delegation of Ceylon the very profound sympathy of my delegation on the great loss which their country has suffered and which the delegation also has suffered. The tragic manner of Mr. Bandaranaike's death must, I am sure, have come as a very great shock to the delegation, particularly in view of the fact that it was expecting him to take over the leadership of the delegation, I think, during the course of this week.
26. Mr. President, in the absence of our highly respected and distinguished President, Mr. Belaúnde, may I ask if you would be good enough to convey to him the congratulations of my delegation and of myself to add to the many congratulations which he has already received since his election as President of the General Assembly. The honour of presiding over the deliberations of this Assembly is a fitting reward for years of devotion to the work and interests of the United Nations. His election is an honour to his country, but it is also an honour to us that the representative of a Latin American country is presiding over the deliberations of this Assembly.
27. During past sessions of the General Assembly — and, indeed, since its first session in 1946 — it has been what I may term the unpleasant duty of leaders of successive South African delegations, when participating in the general debate, to protest against interference in South Africa’s domestic affairs by the United Nations, in contravention of paragraph 7 of Article 2 of the Charter, which embraces a basic principle of the Charter. I do not intend discussing that matter today. May I, however, in passing, remind this Assembly that a basic principle contained in an international document or covenant cannot be dismissed as being merely a legalistic formula which can be varied and even disregarded in the light of changing circumstances or as the result of opportunistic political considerations. As I have said, it is not my intention to discuss this matter today. If a majority of the Assembly wish to violate their own Charter, or if, alternatively, they resort to the somewhat dubious stratagem or device of attempting to circumvent the clear and explicit provisions of paragraph 7 of Article 2 of the Charter, in violation of a unanimous decision of the founding Conference at San Francisco that the Articles relating to human rights and freedoms could not be so used for circumventing paragraph 7 of that Article — then that is a matter between them and their consciences. On this matter of principle, the Union of South Africa stands where it has stood for the past thirteen years and, as they say in this country, "will have no part of it".
28. Today I propose dealing with that part of the world which includes also the country that I have the honour to represent: namely, the continent of Africa, on which the spotlight of world interest has been focused particularly during the past year or two.
29. In regard to its geographic, ethnic and political aspects, the continent of Africa is generally divided into two parts. There are the countries north of the Sahara, the majority of which border on the Mediterranean, and whose destinies have since the earliest days been closely linked with the countries of Europe. There is the further fact that the countries on the Mediterranean littoral maintain a close affinity with the Arab world — its heritage, religion and culture. Then there is the rest of the continent, generally described as "Africa south of the Sahara", though perhaps not quite strictly so in the case of the Sudan and the northern part of Ethiopia.
30. It is particularly in sub-Saharan Africa that important and significant changes and developments have taken place during the past two years. Three fully independent States — the Sudan, Ghana and Guinea have come into being, to join the Union of South Africa and Liberia, which until then were the only sovereign independent States south of the Sahara. The status of certain other African territories, including the former French colonies, has also undergone a significant change. Next year, the already fully independent African States will be joined by Nigeria, the Cameroons, Somalia, Togoland and possibly also the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
31. In Africa south of the Sahara, the world has been witnessing a rapid and, at the same time, a relatively peaceful political evolution of a magnitude which must necessarily bring with it the need for large-scale adjustments not only within the newly independent States themselves but also in their relations with other States and territories in Africa, as well as with the rest of the world.
32. First of all, there is a reappraisal of the relationship between the newly independent country and the previously administering or metropolitan Power necessary. This is an important stage in the growth from dependence to full or even partial independence. Thereafter, the new State will have to decide what its relations are going to be with its neighbours, with other African States and territories, as well as with the rest of the world.
33. The events in Africa have been the subject of much discussion during the past two years. It has, for instance, been suggested that some of the territories aiming at independence are not viable and will thus have to rely on foreign assistance, which is often not actuated entirely by altruistic motives. A representative of India, speaking in the Trusteeship Council in 1954, issued the following warning: "A stable, contented and viable State cannot be built up without strong economic foundations. Political independence will mean little if it is not based on economic independence".
34. I think it will be generally agreed that, apart from the interests of the emerging African States themselves, it is in the interests also of the continent as a whole that its constituent States should be built on sound economic foundations.
35. At this stage, as the representative of an African State, I should like to convey to the newly independent African States the good wishes of the Union of South Africa for their progress and prosperity, and to assure them of our hearty co-operation in matters of common concern.
36, On 31 May of next year, my country will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the coming together of the four provinces to form the present Union of South Africa. In this connexion, it is necessary to remind this Assembly of an historical fact which is not generally known, namely, that when, more than 300 years ago, the Cape of Good Hope was settled by immigrants from Europe, the first Bantu immigrants from Central Africa had come down the East Coast and were crossing the Limpopo River, which is the present northern boundary of the Union of South Africa. Up to that time, the country south of the Limpopo was sparsely inhabited by wandering and scattered groups of Hottentots and Bushmen. Thus it happened that the Bantu immigrants from Central Africa and the European settlers arrived at the northern and southern borders of South Africa, respectively, at approximately the same time. Both were immigrants to the then almost uninhabited southern portion of the African continent.
37. I mention this historic fact in reply to the often- repeated assertion that the present European descended population of South Africa are aliens and settlers. The same description could equally be applied to the Bantu group that moved down the East Coast from Central Africa later to cross the Limpopo River.
38. The ancestors of the great majority of the Union’s white population came to South Africa 200 to over 300 years ago. Their descendants are not colonists or temporary sojourners. South Africa is our national and our natural home. We are today strangers in the lands of our immigrant forefathers. We know no other home but South Africa. We have been firmly rooted in the soil of the African continent for a period extending over three centuries. Furthermore, with the exception of Liberia, the Union of South Africa is an African State with a longer life and a longer experience of sovereign independence than any other independent state geographically south of the Sahara. I thus have the right to speak from this rostrum as the representative of an independent African State in the fullest sense of that term, and it is in that capacity that I today welcome those fellow African States that have acquired independence during the past two years, and those that are on the threshold of independence. It is in the spirit of a common African heritage that, on behalf of my country, I offer our friendship and our cooperation to those States in regard to matters of common concern.
39. But I would hasten to add that South Africa’s offer of co-operation is equally made to other African territories: to the two neighbouring provinces of Portugal, Mozambique and Angola, and to those territories which, in the language of the United Nations, are described as ”Non-Self-Governing. Territories,” Indeed, I am glad to be able to testify to the excellent relations which, in the past, have existed between the Union of South Africa on the one hand, and the Portuguese provinces, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and the territories administered by France, Belgium and the United Kingdom, respectively, on the other hand.
40. During recent years, attacks on the metropolitan Governments have been made inside and outside the United Nations. It is not necessary for me to defend those Governments. That has been ably done by their own representatives at past sessions of the Assembly of this Organization. As the representative of an African State who is better informed regarding some of these territories than most of the critics from outside Africa, may I be permitted to say that there seems to be little realization or appreciation of what the much-maligned metropolitan, or so-called colonial, Governments have done in opening up and developing the natural resources of those territories, in combating human and animal diseases, in creating conditions of law and order, in putting an end to internecine strife, and in raising the standards of living. Those who today are in control of the newly independent African States and those States about to become independent, will be able to testify to the great value of the development work and benefits inherited from their predecessors, the metropolitan Governments.
41. I return to the point which I made earlier in my address, namely, the necessity of co-operation among the States and territories of Africa, particularly those south of the Sahara, in regard to matters of common concern. In that connexion, I stress the importance of building on sound economic foundations, thereby promoting the growth and prosperity of each of those States and territories, and thus also of the whole of the African continent.
42. In spite of what has been accomplished by the previous so-called colonial administrations, much still remains to be done for the development of the emergent African States. Not only will capital from outside be required, but there is also a great need for technical skill and assistance. Some of this will be provided by the former administering or metropolitan counties; some of it will be supplied by certain countries which are eager to obtain an economic, and perhaps also a political or ideological foothold iii Africa. And then there is also the economic and technical assistance rendered by the specialized agencies of the United Nations.
43. It is unfortunate that, when these matters are discussed inside and outside of the Assembly — as was the case less than a week ago — mention is seldom made of the fact that there is in Africa itself a joint cooperative pool for providing technical and scientific assistance, the resources of which are available to the countries south of the Sahara, whether they are independent or not. This is the Commission for Technical Co-operation in Africa South of the Sahara (generally known as the CCTA), together with its associate bodies, the Scientific Council for Africa .South of the Sahara (CSA) and the Foundation for Mutual Assistance in Africa South of the Sahara (FAMA).
44. The original members of these organizations, particularly of the CCTA, were the metropolitan countries — Belgium, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom — and also the Union of South Africa, and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. They, were later joined by Liberia, Ghana and Guinea.
45. The object of the CCTA is to pool and to exchange technical knowledge. The CSA is a body of independent scientists for the exchange of scientific information and for undertaking special scientific studies. These two bodies, working in close collaboration, have done valuable work, particularly in the fields of human, plant and animal diseases, nutrition, soil conservation and productivity, rural welfare, housing, sociology, forestry and fisheries.
46. Co-operation in these fields among African States and territories has been of immense value and has, moreover — and this is important — contributed to the promotion of friendship and understanding among the States and territories in the immense sub-Saharan region.
47. In the work of these organizations the Union of South Africa has played a prominent part, which it has been able to do and is still able to do because of the great advances made in my country in the field of scientific and technological research and development. The huge laboratories and experimental workshops of the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research at Pretoria have been described as among the finest in the Commonwealth, and have also been stated to compare favourably with any in the world. This institution has attained outstanding results in several fields, including housing and personnel management, which have been used for the benefit of the rest of Africa. Some of its discoveries are being applied and used in many countries. The Veterinary Institute at Onderstepoort is well-known all over the world for its work and research in connexion with animal diseases, and has made a valuable contribution towards freeing Africa from such diseases. The South African Bureau of Standards has also gained a great reputation.
48. Two years ago, the work of the CCTA and the CSA was extended by the establishment of FAMA — the Foundation for Mutual Assistance. The purpose of this body is to channel scientific and technical assistance which is available and offered. The idea is to bring the donor and the receiver into touch with each other. The Union of South Africa has on many occasions been able, and has also been glad, to provide such assistance to other African States and territories.
49. The work of the CCTA and its associated bodies is not intended to be exclusive. It is prepared to cooperate with the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation and other international organizations which, during the recent past, have been taking a keen interest in Africa. I would, however, point out that it ‘is necessary that there should be proper co-ordination between these organizations and the CCTA so as to prevent overlapping of activities and thereby a waste of valuable skill and resources.
50. In a somewhat rapid review, I have touched upon the main political, economic, technical and scientific developments in Africa, particularly south of the Sahara. In this context, I cannot, of course, ignore the position of my own country at the southernmost end of the continent. My review would obviously be incomplete if I did not tell the Assembly what we are doing to maintain and further to stabilize our position as an African State.
51. I have already sketched in brief outline South Africa’s participation in those sub-Saharan organizations which are designed to promote technical and scientific co-operation between the territories concerned, and, in that connexion, I referred to what South Africa is doing in the way of scientific research. I would have liked to deal more fully with the great economic and material progress of my country, particularly during the past twenty-five years, with the almost phenomenal industrial development which has taken place and which has, made South Africa the most highly industrialized country on the whole of the African continent, with the Union's progress and growth in other fields Such as mining and agriculture. Unfortunately, however, time will not permit me to do so.
52. There is, however, the matter of human relations, and I wish to inform the Assembly of what we are doing in South Africa in order to find a satisfactory method of dealing with the problem of relations between South Africans of European descent and the Bantu peoples, both of whom have their homelands in South Africa. This is particularly necessary in view of the misconceptions prevailing in many countries, as the result mainly of misinformed, and often distorted, news despatches.
53. South Africa is not unique in having to deal with problems derived from relations between different races. Last month, within the short period of ten days, the newspapers of three different western countries carried headlines describing inter-racial troubles and clashes in those countries. May I add that, in the history of the Union of South Africa, organized attacks by whites on non-whites have never yet taken place — a record of which we are justly proud in view of our far more difficult and complex situation.
54. In the eyes of the outside world. South Africa's problem has assumed extraordinary dimensions, not only because it has been prominently featured in the world press, but also because of the fact that, in some countries, it has been grossly and also cruelly misrepresented, not only in certain newspapers but latterly also on the cinema and television screens.
55. I shall mention only one recent instance to show to what lengths this misrepresentation is being carried. A film has recently been completed which purports to portray conditions in South Africa. It was described by the film critic of the Rand Daily Mail — an Opposition paper — as "one of the greatest hoaxes — deceptions — in film history''. One of the scenes shows, what the producer describes as "a systematic destruction by bulldozers of African homes which it took the owners years to pay for. The cinema audience is not told that this is, in fact, a slum clearance operation, that the occupants of the shacks being torn down were some time ago transferred to well-built homes in a new township at Meadowlands, that the removals were occasions of cheering and joy, and that those whose new homes had not yet been completed begged to be removed as soon as possible. Nor was his audience told that former owners were compensated at such reasonable valuations, that less than 1 per cent of them sought arbitration, which they were perfectly free to do. Two days before my departure from South Africa, a special article written by a Bantu appeared in a leading Opposition newspaper, under the headline "We could not be happier in Meadowlands".
56. In this connexion, I would also direct attention to a dispatch which appeared in The New York Times of 27 September 1959 from their correspondent in Johannesburg, which confirms what I have just told this Assembly. One can imagine the indignation of the New York public and Press if a foreign film producer had given a similarly false version of the tearing down of the old, dilapidated and insanitary tenement houses on the East Side without mentioning "Peter Cooper Village" and other apartment projects which rose in their places, such as the huge blocks of apartments erected by the New York City Housing Board. That is exactly what has been happening in South Africa.
57. I have mentioned only this latest instance of the calumny to which South Africa has been and still is being subjected so that this Assembly can have some idea of the difficulties with which we have to contend in dealing with a difficult and delicate problem. There have been numerous similar instances of completely distorted and false presentations of the South African scene, and, in that respect, South Africa is not the only African country which has been the victim of that kind of misrepresentation.
58. I wish to emphasize what I said earlier in my address, that there is in the Union of South Africa, unlike the other African territories south of the Sahara, a permanent European-descended white population, most of whose forefathers came to South Africa more than 300 years ago. Their descendants, and those of later arrivals, such as the British immigrants who came to South Africa 140 years ago, know no other home. We are strangers, I repeat, in the lands of our immigrant forebears — we are South Africans rooted in the soil of Africa. May I also remind you of what I said earlier, namely, that the ancestors of the present Bantu population emigrated to South Africa from Central Africa at about the same time that the first Dutch settlers arrived at Table Bay.
59. May I point out that there is much in common in the history of the early Dutch and British settlers to South Africa and America respectively. They arrived in both countries at approximately the same time. The descendants of those who landed at Manhattan are today Americans, just as we are South Africans, with the same claim to the countries in which their and our forefathers from Europe settled more than 300 years ago, countries which they subsequently developed and built up to what they are today,
60. The experiences of the early American settlers differed from those who went to South Africa. In America, the settlers almost immediately came into contact with the aboriginal inhabitants of the North American continent. In South Africa, however, it was only after the Dutch settlers started moving hundreds of miles into the interior, about a century after their arrival at Table Bay, that they first made contact with the first wave of Bantu migrants who during the same period, had been moving southwards from East and Central Africa.
61. I do not intend dealing with the subsequent history of South Africa except to say that, in those early days, after the settlers went inland for the first time, the white pioneers never took the initiative in attacking the migrants from the north, but always followed the practice of negotiating for land which they required for the grazing of their cattle.
62. I now come to the important matter of the relations between the European-descended and the Bantu peoples of South Africa. In those early days, the European pioneers followed the course that ever since has been the traditional policy of South Africa, namely, the policy of separation between the two races. It was realized that only in that way could be avoided the differences and clashes that necessarily would arise when two entirely different types of races live together in the same locality. History records that such racial clashes have taken place in all countries and are still taking place in countries represented in this Assembly. So also, the past history of the sub-Saharan African continent is a record of almost continual strife, not only between different African races, but also between different ethnic groups of the same race.
63. In the early nineteenth century, in the eastern Cape Colony, it was found necessary to have a boundary between the whites and the Bantu. Toward the end of the last century, this policy was carried further, and the Glen Grey Native Territory was established in the Eastern Cape which provided for a measure of self-government in regard to local affairs. The principle was later extended to what is known as the Transkeian Territories and was further developed recently, when Bantu Authorities were established in the huge areas reserved for occupation only by the Bantu. South Africans of European descent are not permitted to acquire, or to occupy land in the Bantu Territories, except under permit for trading purposes, and only for so long as the needs of the Bantu are not fully provided by their own traders. I wonder whether a similar provision exists in any other sub-Saharan State or territory.
64. South Africa's traditional policy of separate development was clearly set out by General Smuts when he addressed a gathering in London on 22 May 1917. His words, uttered more than forty-two years ago, are of particular significance in the context of what has recently been happening, also in other parts of the African continent. General Smuts then said: "There is now shaping in South Africa a policy which is being expressed in our institutions, and which may have very far-reaching effects in the future civilisation of the African continent ... A practice has grown up in South Africa of giving the natives their own separate institutions on parallel lines ... On these, parallel lines we may yet be able to solve a problem which otherwise may be insoluble ... We have felt more and more that... it is useless to try to govern blacks and whites in the same system ... Their political institutions should be different, while always proceeding on the basis of self-government.... "In land ownership, settlement and forms of Government (our policy is) to keep them apart ... Thus in South Africa you will eventually have large areas cultivated by blacks and governed by blacks ... While in the rest of the country you will have whites which will govern themselves according to accepted European principles."
65. In 1929 — twelve years later, thirty years ago — General Smuts enunciated similar principles when he delivered the Rhodes Memorial Lectures at Oxford University. He said then: "It is clear that a race so unique and so different in its mentality and its cultures from those of Europe requires a policy very unlike that which would suit Europeans. Nothing could be worse for Africa than the application of a policy the object or tendency of which would be to destroy the basis of this African type — to de-Africanize the African ... If Africa is to take her rightful place among the continents, we shall have to proceed on different lines, and evolve a policy which will not force her institutions into an alien European mould, but which will preserve her unity with her own past, conserve what is precious in her past, and build her future progress and civilization on specifically African foundations."
66. If I am not mistaken, a prominent member of the Government of one of the independent African States recently expressed views similar to those which I have quoted, when he was replying to outside criticism regarding the policy and methods followed by his Government.
67. I have quoted these statements, made by a previous and well-known South African Prime Minister — the man who wrote the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations — to show that the policy at present being followed in South Africa is not only the traditional policy of my country, but that it takes account of the traditions, the cultures and the needs of the Bantu peoples.
68. This policy has, during recent years, been further developed and put into practice in South Africa by means of legislative enactments, which are intended to reaffirm and to implement the policy of peaceful coexistence, on the one hand, of the separate Bantu communities which can eventually attain full self-government, and, on the other hand, of a separate community or State controlled by South Africans of European descent. The implementation of this policy culminated in the enactment by the recent session of the Union Parliament of measures designed to provide Bantu self-government for the six different ethnic groups which comprise the Bantu population of South Africa.
69. An important step leading to the implementation of this policy was the Bantu Authorities Act of 1951. It provides the basis for future development on modern lines, and is intended to safeguard the Bantu’s traditional and essentially democratic style of self-government to which he is strongly attached, and which has always been centred in the authority of the Bantu chief advised by his Council. Under this system, increased executive and judicial powers are exercised by different grades of chiefs — or rulers-in-council. At the same time, the necessary Safeguards are provided to ensure that the authority so granted will be exercised in the interests of, and in accordance with the will and desires of the community.
70. The Bantu Authorities Act was warmly welcomed by all the Bantu territories, particularly as it was followed in 1953 by the Bantu Education Act — a measure, incidentally, which was also misrepresented and criticized in the overseas newspapers — the Act which gave to Bantu parents both in their own territories and in the European areas the power to control their own schools — the first time that had ever happened. Already more than 4,000 school committees and 5,000 school boards composed only of Bantu parents and leaders have been established and are functioning with excellent results.
71. May I in this context briefly recount what we have done in South Africa in the field of Bantu education. Illiteracy, I may remind this Assembly, is not only an African problem. Far from it. It is found also in some of the most modern countries. In evolving an educational policy for the Bantu, we are following the generally accepted educational principle of leading the child from the known and the familiar, to the unknown and the unfamiliar. We have to bear in mind that we are dealing with a child trained and conditioned in a Bantu culture, generally knowing only a Bantu language, and acquainted only with values, interests and behaviour patterns learned from a Bantu mother. These are the facts which must to a large extent determine the methods to be employed in a system of separate Bantu, education intended for a Bantu people, and as is found, a similar system also in other countries, in the educational systems of other peoples.
72. The success of any particular system or method employed in any sphere, is best judged by the results obtained. A literacy map of the world shows that most of the continent of Africa is burdened with one of the highest illiteracy rates of all continents. Only a few of the African countries, according to a UNESCO report, show a rate of even 80 per cent. The success of this system of Bantu education in South Africa on the other hand has, again according to the UNESCO report, in the circumstances, been outstanding. The illiteracy rate among the Bantu which, according to this report was 73 per cent in 1946, was by 1951 reduced to 69 per cent, and by 1956 to 63 per cent. It can be assumed, with a fair amount of certainty, that today, three years later, it is even lower.
73. Our progress in the field of Bantu education is even more significant when it is noted that we have today 7,600 Bantu schools, and that 26,000 teachers impart knowledge to 1,400,000 pupils. Before the Bantu, Education Act came into operation, there were 800,000 pupils. The increase from 800,000 to 1,400,000 in a period of only five years, testifies to the efficacy of - this legislation. In this connexion, I could make comparisons with many other countries, which will show South Africa in a very favourable light, but, for obvious reasons, I shall refrain from doing so.
74. 1 now come to the important legislation passed by last year’s session of the South African Parliament, namely, an Act to provide for self-government in the territories of each of the six ethnic groups of the Bantu race. Experience has shown, not only in South Africa, but also in other parts of the African continent, that clashes, and even internecine wars have resulted from rivalry and other differences between ethnic groups of the African peoples. In this respect, the black man in Africa is no different from the white man in Europe — as history can testify.
75. The Act for the promotion of Bantu self-government provides the means for the different Bantu territories to progress along the road towards self- government, and eventually to form part of a South African Commonwealth, together with the Union of South Africa, which will, during the intervening period, act as the guardian of the emergent Bantu self- governing States.
76. The question has been asked critically — to which I willingly reply today — why the emergent Bantu States will not continue to be represented in the South African Parliament. May I, in passing, remind this Assembly that South Africa is not the only country where the indigenous population, or a portion thereof, is not represented in the central legislature. Again, for obvious reasons, I will mention no names. In replying to that question, I can do no better than to refer to the White Paper that was issued concurrently with the publication of the Bill providing for Bantu self- government. May I say here in passing that the term "White Paper" is derived from the British system of issuing a paper containing statements, and that it has nothing to do with racial discrimination.
77. The following is a summary of that particular part of the White Paper as to why the Bantu will not continue to be represented in the Union Parliament: "The political autonomy envisaged for the Bantu national units, demands that factors or impediments that may retard this development should be removed. Such an impediment would be the continued representation of the emergent Bantu national units in the Parliament of the white population. On the one hand, this would tend to encourage fears harboured by the white community of being politically swamped by the numerically superior Bantu. On the other hand, the representation of the emergent self-governing Bantu States in the Union Parliament would have the effect of discouraging the development of Bantu institutions because of the expectation of greater participation, thereby promoting the desertion of trained human material from service in their own Bantu communities."
78. The White Paper further points out that experience has shown that representation in the Parliament of the guardian or metropolitan country, is not a factor that plays a role in the attainment of self-government by a dependent territory. So, for instance, none of the territories in the British Empire or in the Commonwealth, which were destined for autonomy, were at any time, or are now represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
79. There is a further question which has been critically asked, to which I shall willingly reply: that is, what the position will be of the Bantu who are resident outside the Bantu territories. Their position will be no different from that of the thousands of Bantu from the neighbouring British Protectorates, who are at present voluntarily working and temporarily resident in the Union. That is one of our problems: the large number of Bantu come to South Africa from the other parts — from the Protectorate — to be "oppressed". Those Bantu from the British Protectorates have never had political or similar rights in the Union, and if they are able to enjoy political rights in their own territories, they are free at any time to return to their respective territories. For instance, take the case of Basutoland, to which a measure of self-government has recently been granted. Thousands of the Basutos, who have crossed the border to reside in the Union, could, if they wished and if the local law so provides, return to exercise their political rights in Basutoland.
80. The legislation providing for Bantu self-government, has, however given due attention and due consideration to the interests of those Bantu who are working or resident outside their own territories. It is provided that the Bantu Authorities established in terms of the Authorities Act, can nominate persons to be their representatives in the urban areas outside the Bantu territories. There they will serve as a link between the Bantu living in the urban areas, and the Authority in the Bantu territory, which, in turn, can make representations to the Union Government on behalf of the members of their respective ethnic groups working or resident in European urban areas. It is intended also to establish Bantu Urban Authorities in the European areas with jurisdiction in Bantu townships which fall within the areas reserved for white occupation. I would add that in each of these Bantu territories there will be a Commissioner-General who, particularly during the earlier years of political development, will act as an adviser and a link between that territory and the Union Government, and later as the Union's representative in each of those territories.
81. The parliamentary enactment providing for Bantu self-government was accompanied by a measure to provide for the establishment of three Bantu university colleges within Bantu territories. These university colleges will be obliged to provide as high a standard of education, and the same standards of equipment, as any of the existing universities because of the fact that, for examining purposes, these Bantu universities will be constituent university colleges of the University of South Africa.
82. This development is also in accordance with the policy set out in the preceding part of my address. It provides that the Bantu will in an increasing measure control the university education of their children and that the teaching staff will be supplied by Bantu graduates, as and when they become available.
83. I have sketched the course upon which we in South Africa have embarked, the course which we firmly believe will provide the ultimate solution of the problems of the relations between the two races in our country. It follows recent trends and developments on the African continent and aims at progressively giving the Bantu control of his own homelands. At the same time, this policy ensures to the South Africans of European descent control of their homeland, which was opened up and developed by their ancestors and by succeeding generations.
84. The carrying out of the policy which I have just outlined brings with it a heavy responsibility. In discharging that responsibility, we shall act in accordance with the dictates of our conscience and in the light of our knowledge of conditions in our country, conditions which are unknown and unfortunately misrepresented to people outside of South Africa.
85. The implementation of our policy will entail large sacrifices and will make heavy demands upon our economic and financial resources. For that we are prepared. Few people outside of South Africa realize the immensity of our problem and the sacrifices it entails. They certainly do not appreciate that we in South Africa have never yet resorted to foreign aid or to other forms of outside assistance.
86. I would add, however, that, in spite of this urgent and prior call on our financial resources for the development particularly of the Bantu areas, we have in the past, where possible, contributed towards humanitarian and meritorious measures designed to assist under-developed countries and also other worthy causes sponsored by the United Nations. At one stage, the Union of South Africa was one of the leading contributors to UNICEF.
87. Today, we need our resources for carrying out the projects intended to serve as a solution of our great problem. I may, however, here state that it is the intention of my Government to make further contributions to some of these funds in order to give expression to our sympathy with action taken by the United Nations in these fields.
88. In conclusion, I have a final word regarding the continent of Africa. I have in this address directed attention particularly to that part of the continent which lies roughly south of the Sahara, extending to its southernmost end, the Cape of Good Hope. Not only has the spotlight of world attention been directed to the constitutional developments that have already taken place or that are in the process of taking place. Also in the international sphere, interest has been aroused by reason of the fact that the African continent lies midway between the West and the East. Upon the independent, the near-independent and the emergent States of Africa rests the responsibility of resisting attempts to use the continent of Africa for the play of power politics and international intrigue. In pursuance of this aim, the Union of South Africa will play its part, and once again we assure the States and territories of Africa of our willingness to co-operate with them in regard to all matters of common concern.