adminThe Rhodesia Herald,
August 3, 1977
BLACK schoolchildren in Atteridgeville and Saulsville were warned here yesterday that their schools would be closed down if they do not return to their classrooms by Friday.
The SABC reported the warning was issued by the regional director of Bantu Education for the Northern Transvaal, Mr J Wiese.
Mr Wiese said if the pupils did not return to school by Friday, then his department would assume they did not wish to go to school and they would be considered as having left school, reports Iana.
It was reported yesterday from Port Elizabeth that the entire Uitenhage Urban Bantu Council has resigned because of “frustration” with the Cape Midlands Bantu Affairs Administration Board and the “lack of basic facilities” in black township, the chairman, Mr G. K. Majombozi, said.
He said the decision, taken on Sunday would come into effect in four weeks’ time.
Uitenhage’s black townships were the centre of violence on the anniversary of the Soweto riots, recently.
Iana reports from Johannesburg that two whites were victims of isolated cases of stone throwing in Soweto yesterday, but otherwise the townships were quieter than Monday, according to senior police spokesman.
Teargas was used to disperse about 60 stone throwing youths in Orlando West, and dogs scattered 150 youths who were throwing stones at police and private vehicles between Orlando and Diepkloof.
School attendances in Soweto high schools dropped dramatically yesterday, with students claiming they feared a repeat of Monday’s tough police action, The Star newspaper reports.
Soweto police said that all was quiet in the complex by 10.30pm last night and there had been no incidents yesterday evening.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
Despite the democratic elections in 1994 that ushered the Rainbow nation, with Nelson Mandela being the founding head of State and Government, South Africa has remains divided by the evident socio-economic inequalities.
Yester-year’s “Bantu” people continue to be at the bottom of the ladder in terms of owning the means of production. Thus they lag behind economically.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is South Africa’s fifth president since Mandela, but the economic inequalities between blacks and whites, the rich and the poor remain wide.
Analysts argue that the only way to redress the imbalances is to ensure that resources like land for agriculture and mining is equally distributed. This will bridge the inequality gaps.
Last month, South Africa was rocked by the worst protests since 1994 that resulted in massive looting of businesses in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Provinces. The violent disturbances resulted in the deaths of more than 350 people and dozens more injured. Hundreds of suspects were arrested.
The country remains on edge as there are more social media calls to attend former President Jacob Zuma’s trial on August 10. The recent riots are believed to have been instigated by President Zuma’s supporters, following his 15-month imprisonment.
The right to peaceful protests is enshrined in the Constitution. However, when those rights infringe on the rights of other citizens, where do we draw the line? When it leads to skills and capital flight there is need for reflection.
Online Reporter