Main
Chronology

1970s

THE 1900'S ARE DIVIDED UP INTO DECADES:

DATE

       EVENT
1970   Prices begin to rise sharply, making it even more difficult for workers to survive on low wages. Spontaneous strikes resulted: workers walk out of the workplaces demanding wage increases.
1970   The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act strips blacks of their South African Citizenship.
1970   Fietas, Johannesburg: Lenasia is incorporated into the Johannesburg Municipal Area.
1970   Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act (National States Citizenship Act) No 26:

Required all black persons to become citizens of a self-governing territorial authority. As Minister Connie Mulder stated: No black person will eventually qualify in terms of section 10 because they will all be aliens, and as such, will only be able to occupy the houses bequeathed to them by their fathers, in the urban areas, by special permission of the Minister, i.e. black people are forced by residence in designated homelands areas to be citizens of that homeland and denied South African nationality, the right to work in South Africa etc.
Assent gained: 26 March 1970; commencement date not found
Repealed by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act No 200 of 1993.
1970   Fatima Meer banned for planning mass rally with Steve Biko.

Winnie Mandela placed under house arrest.
1970   Robert McBride\'s sister Gwynneth is born.
1970   Coloured and Indian players are purged from African clubs.

South Africa is expelled from the Olympic Movement.
1970   Thabo Mbeki is sent to Soviet Union for political training. Walter Sisulu and Abertina Sisulu’s son Max joins Thabo, and together they make their way to a remote military camp near a town called Sekhodia.
1970 1 January   The Weights and Measures Bill providing for the metrification of weights and measures, thereby introducing the metric system, comes into effect.
1970 9 January   The first week after the announcement of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund the price of gold falls below $35 per oz.
1970 30 January   The Prime Minister announces that the government is watching the situation in Lesotho following the elections and that necessary measures have been taken to ensure the safety of South Africans there.
1970 6 February   The Prime Minister announces that all Coloured people will be removed from the common voters roll.
1970 11 February   A delegation from Mauritius arrives in Cape Town to discuss ways of strengthening links between Mauritius and South Africa.
1970 16 February   Twenty-two Africans are acquitted of unlawful activities. Three are subsequently released, but the nineteen others are charged again under the Terrorism Act, and immediately taken into custody. They include Winnie Mandela.
1970 18 February   Minister of Defence Botha, appeals in the House of Assembly to the British government to uphold its honour in respect of the Simonstown Agreement, otherwise South Africa will have to explore other avenues to strengthen its maritime forces.
1970 23 February   The Bantu Laws Amendment Bill is passed.
1970 26 February   The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Bill is passed, whereby every African is issued with a certificate of citizenship of his respective homeland.
1970 6 March   The National Party manifesto reaffirms its belief in separate development programmes for the white, black, Coloured and Indian population.
1970 10 March   South Africas consular representation will not be withdrawn from Rhodesia and South Africas relations with the Republic of Rhodesia will remain unchanged.
1970 13 March   A total of 407 candidates are nominated for the 166 seats in the House of Assembly. Eight parties and five independents will contest 155 of the constituencies.
1970 18 March   The Deputy Leader of the Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP), Jaap Marais, is committed for trial in the Pretoria Supreme Court on three charges under the Official Secrets Act.
1970 23 March   South Africa is banned from competing in the Davis Cup, as a result of South Africas apartheid stand in sport.
1970 26 March   On this date all Africans become citizens of their ethnic homelands. However, they will not become foreigners in the Republic of South Africa.

South Africa:Signs treaty with Portugal (for Mozambique), amending Article XXXII of the Mozambique Convention.
1970 April   The Leader of the United Party reiterates his partys proposal for a Federal Constitution.
The Herstigte Nasionaie Party publishes its manifesto describing its aim of a society dominated by Christian national concepts and Afrikaans as the only official language.
1970 2 April   South Africa:Signs agreement with Australia relating to air services.
1970 13 April   B.J. Vorster states that he is prepared to meet demands that mixed sports should be allowed.
1970 14 April   The United Nations Special Committee on Apartheid urges a boycott of all South African racist sporting organizations and supports an African proposal to exclude the Republic from both the Munich Olympics and the Olympic Movement itself.
1970 22 April   The general election results in the return to power of the National Party for the sixth time since 1948, but with a reduced majority. There is an overall swing of two and a half percent to the United Party, and of five and a half percent away from the National Party with three percent going to the Herstigte Nasionale Party. The NP wins 117 seats with 820,968 votes cast. The UP wins forty-seven seats with 561,647 votes cast. The Progressive Party wins one seat with 51,760 votes cast.
1970 24 April   It is confirmed in London that thirteen African countries have threatened to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, if the South African cricket tour of Britain goes on.
1970 27 April   The Prime Minister announces that his newly re-elected government is to continue its outward looking foreign policy as well as its policy of separate development.
1970 11 May   The Prime Minister announces a Cabinet reshuffle.
1970 13 May   South Africa:Signs multilateral treaty on certain dairy products.
1970 15 May   The International Olympic Committee expels South Africa from the International Olympic Movement as a result of South Africans apartheid stand in sport.
1970 18 May   Following the results obtained in the general election held in April, a new cabinet is sworn in.
1970 19 May - 21 May   John Vorster visits Malawi and stresses the desire for continued contact and co-operation between South Africa and Malawi, despite existing differences in outlook.
1970 21 May - 22 May   Private talks are held between John Vorster and Rhodesian Prime Minister lan Smith.
1970 22 May   The English Cricket Council bows to British government pressure and calls off the all-white South African cricket tour.
1970 29 May   Minister of Justice, P.C. Pelser, announces that the Attorney-General of the Transvaal is to prosecute thirty of the 357 people arrested in Johannesburg after an illegal march in protest against the continued detention of the twenty-two Africans held under the Terrorism Act.
1970 3 June - 7 June   The Prime Minister, accompanied by Dr. Muller, visits Portugal, and holds several meetings with the Portuguese Prime Minister and senior ministers. The friendly talks cover a wide field and include the Cahora Bassa scheme.
1970 9 June - 10 June   The Prime Minister visits Spain and holds discussions with senior officials. A meeting is held with General Franco.
1970 10 June   John Vorster hold talks in Paris with the French Prime minister covering French investments in South Africa.
1970 12 June   The seventh homeland is inaugurated with the installation of Chief Gatsha Buthelezi as Chief Executive Officer of the Zululand Territorial Authority (ZTA).
1970 13 June   P.W. Botha announces that South Africa is establishing a new submarine base at Simonstown at a cost of $7.7m.
1970 14 June - 17 June   Prime Minister Vorster and Dr. Muller arrive in Geneva. A meeting is held with twelve South African ambassadors to European countries, and with the head of the South African mission to the United Nations in Geneva, concerned with means of improving South Africas image in Europe.
1970 24 June   Exchange of notes with Portugal on the issue of copyright in maps.
1970 July   The first General Students\' Council of South African Students\' Organisation (SASO) is convened, where the organisation takes a bolder stance. The organisation encourages contact between SASO and other multi-racial organisations such as the United Christian Movement (UCM) and the Institute of Race Relations, but recognition of National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) as a \"true\" national union of students is withdrawn. SASO becomes identified with a well-articulated ideology of Black Consciousness.
1970 1 July   The question of the resumption of arms supplies by Britain to South Africa is discussed by the Foreign Minister, Dr. H. Muller and the new British Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, in London, in the context of the Simonstown Agreement.
1970 6 July   The British Conservative governments intention to resume arms supplies is announced in the House of Commons. Other Commonwealth governments are formally informed of this intention on 10-11 July 1970. Hostile reactions follow.
1970 11 July   The United States Secretary of State reiterates Americas adherence to the policy of not supplying arms and military equipment to South Africa.
1970 20 July   The Prime Minister announces in the House of Assembly that South African scientists have succeeded in developing a new process for uranium enrichment, and are building a pilot plant for this process.

The British Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, makes a statement in the House of Commons on the question of arms for South Africa. Emphasizing the vital importance of the sea routes around South Africa.
1970 23 July   The United Nations Security Council condemns all violations of its embargo against South Africa. After five meetings on this question Resolution 281 (1970) is subsequently passed calling on all states to strengthen the arms embargo. It is adopted by twelve votes to none against, France, Great Britain and the United States abstaining.

The Minister of Defence tells Parliament that South Africa in fact spends less than 3 percent of her national income on defence.
1970 23 July   Security Council adopted resolution 282 (1970) calling on States to take a series of measures to strengthen the arms embargo against South Africa. The vote was 12 in favour and 3 abstentions (France, UK, USA).
1970 27 July   An Uranium Enrichment Bill is announced, establishing the Uranium Enrichment Corporation of South Africa.
1970 29 July   The International Court of Justice in the Hague unanimously condemns the continuing presence of South Africa in Namibia and defines the legal consequences.
1970 August   In an article published in the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) newsletter Steve Biko writes: \"The integration they (liberals) talk about...is artificial...one-way of course, with the Whites doing all the talking and the Blacks the listening\"
1970 3 August   South Africa:Signs amendments with Portugal (for Mozainbique) an the Mozambique Convention.
1970 15 August   Several pamphlet bombs, scattering ANC pamphlets, explode in a number of cities.
1970 19 August   The Chinese community is granted official white status for the first time. but only for sport and leisure. Subsequently the leader of the HNP, Dr. Hertzog, accuses the government of betraying South Africas traditional principles of racial segregation.
1970 24 August   A second trial of the nineteen Africans, acquitted in February begins after they have been in detention for seventeen months. They are all acquitted and released on 14 September 1970 only to be served subsequently with orders by the Minister of Justice placing them under restriction.
1970 September   South Africa:Signs visa agreement with Spain.
1970 September   Speaking in the House of Assembly, Prime Minister Vorster said that South Africa was prepared to enter into a non-aggression pact with neighbouring States.
1970 28 September   The Minister of Justice announces in the House of Assembly that as of 1 January 1970 there were 809 persons serving prison sentences imposed under security laws.
1970 28 September   The provincial elections continue to demonstrate the slight swing away from the National Party, with the United Party making a net gain of six seats. The result: National Party 118 seats, the United Party fifty-nine seats, others nil.
1970 30 September   B.S. Ramotse is sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment by Justice G. Viljoen in the Pretoria Supreme Court. He is found guilty of taking part in terrorist activities and plotting the violent overthrow of the state.
1970 5 October   South Africa:Signs multilateral Convention on the Conflict of Laws Relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions.
1970 24 October   In a Declaration on the 25th anniversary of the United Nations, the General Assembly described apartheid as \"a crime against the conscience and dignity of mankind\". (Resolution 2627 (XXV))
1970 4 November   President Houphouet-Boigny of the Ivory Coast announces he is planning an African Summit Conference to urge a dialogue with South Africa. This initiative meets with very various reactions throughout the continent, but is welcomed in South Africa.
1970 9 November   South Africa:Signs agreement with Netherlands modifying existing agreement on air services
1970 13 November - 1 December   The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Michael Ramsey, visits South Africa on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Anglican Church in South Africa. He repeatedly expresses his views on political and social problems arising from the governments apartheid policy.
1970 13 November   After a challenge of the credentials of the South African delegation by many Member States, the General Assembly approved the report of the Credentials Committee \"except with regard to the credentials of the representatives of the Government of South Africa\". [(Resolution 2636 (XXV))]
1970 15 November   At the twenty-fourth General Assembly of the United Nations, South Africa joined all the leading maritime powers in opposing a section of the Resolutions on Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed.
1970 19 November   John Vorster appoints Theo Gerdener as Minister of the Interior in succession to Marais Viljoen. The latter retains the Labour portfolio and takes over Posts and Telegraphs in addition. The South African Broadcasting Corporation will come under the direct control of the Ministry of National Education.
1970 20 November   The South African Foreign Minister signs an economic agreement with the Malagasy Republic, which provides for a financial loan from South Africa to help the Malagasy tourist industry.
1970 21 November   Six prominent members of the HNP resign, having lost all confidence in the leadership of the party. Resignations include that of Dr. Willie Lubbe, editor of the partys newspaper Die Afrikaner.
1970 5 December   The governments policy for the coloured people is restated by a Cabinet Minister. Any policy, or lack thereof, which can lead to integration on whatever basis between whites and coloureds is rejected; the idea of a specific homeland for the coloured people is impracticable; extended and consistent liaison between the coloureds and the white authorities is promised. The government remains firmly committed to the principle of parallel development.
1970 11 December   South Africa signs a customs agreement with Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
1970 16 December   South Africa:Signs multilateral treaty on the suppression of unlawful seizure of aircraft.
1970 24 December   The Minister of Bantu Administration and Development leaves Malawi after a four-day visit during which cooperation between nations of Southern Africa is endorsed.
1971   The natal Indian Congress is revived.
1971   The Voice of Women magazine is launched.
1971   Despite the formative influence of a highly politicised father, one of Robert McBride\'s first personal experiences of racism is at Zoo Lake, Johannesburg. He joins some White children playing with a fish in a bucket, recently caught by a White youth of about 18 who, kicks Robert (of mixed race) in the crotch. This becomes an incident that his younger sister uses to taunt him.
1971   South African Students\' Organisation (SASO) helps launch the Black Community Programme.

Strini Moodley and Saths Cooper, members of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) urge other Indian activists to embrace the Black Consciousness ideology. Although there is sympathy among NIC members, they view South African Students Organisation’s ideas of Black consciousness as potentially leading to Black racism.
1971   The National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) launches the Keg League (later renamed Castle League), sponsored by South African Breweries.

Kaizer Motaung’s All-Star XI is renamed Kaizer Chiefs.
1971   Thabo Mbeki is transferred to Lusaka, Zambia.
1971 14 January - 21 January   A conference of Heads of Government from the Commonwealth is held in Singapore at which Britains proposed sale of arms to South Africa is extensively debated. A study group is set up to consider the question in the context of the security of maritime trade routes in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
1971 20 January   The Anglican Dean of Johannesburg, the Very Rev. Gonville Aubie ffrench-Beytagh, is detained by the police, accused of subversive activities.
1971 1 February   South Africa:Signs an amendment with Malawi on the provisions of the trade agreement of 13 March 1967.
1971 2 February   South Africa:Signs the Convention of Wetlands and Water Fowl.

The Minister of Justice says, in Parliament, that for as long as the present government is in power the Immorality Act will not be repealed.
1971 8 February   The text of a letter from South Africa to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, officially requesting it to cooperate in supervising a plebiscite in Namibia, is released. The Court is considering a request by the United Nations Security Council for an opinion on the legal consequences of South Africas continued presence in the territory in defiance of United Nations resolutions.

Minister of Labour Marais Viljoen announces total exemption for Coloureds from job reservation in the building industry on the Reef and in Pretoria.
1971 11 February   South Africa:Signs treaty with Israel on the reciprocal recognition of air worthiness certificates between South Africa and Israel.

South Africa:Signs multilateral treaty pertaining to nuclear weapons on the seabed.
1971 16 February - 22 February   A number of religious ministers and lay workers from Europe and America are told to leave the country.
1971 19 February   It is reported that the Security Police have detained about twenty Africans, Coloureds and Asians. The detainees are said to be members of the Unity Movement of South Africa, founded in 1943 by Coloured schoolteachers.

The South African arms question is discussed in a closed session of the Singapore Commonwealth Conference.
1971 20 February   The British Prime Minister reiterates his governments attitude to the sale of arms in South Africa, at the Commonwealth Conference in Singapore. Accordingly the South African government has assured Britain that it had no aggressive intentions and that maritime arms would be used only to secure the sea routes.
1971 22 February   The South African Defence Ministry announces that the British government, following its obligations as per the Simonstown Agreement, is willing to give an export licence for Wasp helicopters as requested by South Africa.
1971 25 February   The Chief of the Security Police announces that raids undertaken on this date at offices of Christian and student organizations in the countrys main cities have revealed quantities of documents concerning ffrench-Beytaghs activities. The Dean is consequently remanded until 28 May 1971 and again until 30 June 1971. The original charges are withdrawn: a new indictment is drawn up under the Terrorism Act.

The OAU publishes a statement condemning Britains proposed sale of helicopters to South Africa.
1971 March   The Bantu Homelands Constitution Bill is enacted in the last week of March. 3 Mar. 1971 A Constitution Amendment Bill, empowering the government to proclaim any African language an official language in any self-governing territory, when considered fit passes its second reading at a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. Seven different African languages will thus be given official recognition.
1971 11 March   A resolution is passed at a student body meeting for the establishment of a student Wages Commission. David Hemson, Halton Cheadle, David Davis, Karel Tip and Charles Nupen together with political scientist Rick Turner lead the collective thinking on the establishment of the Commission.
1971 15 March   South Africa:Signs treaty with Netherlands for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
1971 19 March   Prime Minister Vorster says that his government is prepared to engage in dialogue, without preconditions, with other African countries prepared to talk. His offer meets with mixed reactions throughout the continent.
1971 22 March   A statement by Ghanas Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Ghanal. National Assembly indicates a readiness to visit South Africa.
1971 26 March   The Prime Minister of Swaziland visits Cape Town for talks with John Vorster and confirms that a policy of friendship and cooperation towards the Republic is being maintained.
1971 29 March   South Africa:Signs Wheat Trade Convention.
1971 30 March   Prime Minister Vorster holds his first-ever international press conference and asserts that discussion of separate development with Africas black leaders will be welcomed. A policy of external dialogue is to be pursued.


Referring to allegations that a vendetta is being conducted against churches and religious workers in South Africa. Prime Minister Vorster says that of 1,440 religious workers only six have been deported in the last ten years, seventeen were refused extensions of permits and two were refused visas.

End-March:The Bantu Homelands Constitution Bill is enacted. It empowers the government to grant self-government, on an equal footing with that of the Transkei, to any area with a Territorial Authority, upon the latters request, at any time, by simple proclamation, after consultation with the Territorial Authority concerned, but without parliamentary enactment.
1971 31 March   Bantu Homelands Constitution Act (National States Constitutional Act) No 21:

Provided for the granting of increased powers to homeland governments, thus facilitating their eventual independence.
Commenced: 31 March 1971
Repealed by Sch 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act No 200 of 1993.
1971 1 April   Accepts the accession of Ireland to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
1971 13 April   The Chief Minister of Transkei demands full control of all departments of state.
1971 16 April   The Minister of Bantu Administration and Development, MC. Botha, replies to Paramount Chief Kaiser Matanzimas demands for increased control and for the transference to the Transkei of certain lands technically within its boundaries, from the Republic. Certain police stations will be transferred to Transkeian jurisdiction.
1971 21 April   The Prime Minister refers to the Chief Minister of Transkeis demands of 13 April and points out that Defence could not be transferred as it would mean changing the Constitution of the Transkei Act of 1963.

Prime Minister Vorster makes a lengthy statement on South Africas relations with Zambia.
1971 22 April   The Ciskei Territorial Authority elects a twenty-member select committee to draft a Constitution for an independent Ciskei.

Speaking in the House of Assembly the Prime Minister lays down guidelines for international sports meetings in South Africa. He makes it clear, however, that there has been no change in sports policy on the club, provincial and national levels.
1971 23 April - 26 April   Prime Minister Vorster denies that he has broken any confidence in disclosing exchanges with Zambia and he added that it was fallacious that he indicated that he was willing to discuss Rhodesias future with President Kaunda.
1971 28 April   The President of the Ivory Coast reiterates his initiative for opening a dialogue with South Africa. While Swaziland approves the dialogue, Tanzania and Mauritius refuse to participate and many member states of the OAU strongly oppose it.
1971 1 May   The Tswana Legislative Assembly comes into being.
1971 3 May   Chief Kaiser Matanzima denies in the Transkei Legislative Assembly that he is agitating for independence at this state, but he will continue to make certain legitimate land claims.

Signs treaty with Malawi on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
1971 5 May   A wide-ranging bill providing severe penalties for dealing in or using dangerous drugs is published.
1971 6 May   Minister of Defence P.W. Botha announces in the House of Assembly that South Africa has reached such a degree of self-sufficiency that it does not need any arms from the outside world for internal security.
1971 12 May   Extension of University Education Amendment Act No 29:

In order to prevent students from changing courses after admission, the Minister would give consent only in respect of a specific university and a specified qualification. He could withdraw his consent if the student concerned changed her/his course of study (SRR 1971:288).
Commenced: 12 May 1971
Repealed by s 21 of the Tertiary Education Act No 66 of 1988.
1971 14 May   The International Court of Justice at The Hague rejects the governments application that a plebiscite be organized in Namibia and rejects the offer of additional documentation about the situation there.
1971 16 May   Prime Minister Vorster declares that if the positive signs of cooperation with the rest of Africa are interpreted correctly, South Africa could become the leading state of Southern Africa.
1971 21 May   South Africa:Joins the International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (lntelsat).
1971 26 May   South Africa:Signs multilateral articles of agreement on the Southern African Regional Tourism Council.
1971 1 June   The Venda and Ciskei territorial authorities are replaced by legislative assemblies.
1971 8 June   The first meeting of the student Wages Commission is held at the Bolton hall at the University of Natal, Durban (UND). Beforehand, thousands of pamphlets announcing the meeting and explaining the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) were printed and distributed by the students to workers in industrial areas, outside factory gates and at taxi ranks. 400 workers attend, and all sign an objection to the Wage Board’s latest ruling on the minimum wage, and demand a minimum wage of R20 per week. The petition is ignored by the government Wages Board which sets down a minimum of R 8,50.
1971 9 June   The Minister of Coloured Affairs pledges himself to strive for equal pay for equal work for Coloureds.
1971 9 June   An unintended consequence of the first meeting of the Wages Commission is seen the following day, when a group of workers at the McWillaw Iron and Steel Foundry in Isipingo stop work. Waving the Wages Commission pamphlets, the workers quote R 16,50 as a minimum weekly income. The police were called in and an agreement with management is reached, with no pay increase.
1971 11 June   Minister of the Interior Theo Gerdener, indicates that the Public Service Commission will make a comprehensive study to create a more satisfactory ratio between white and non-white salaries in government service.
1971 14 June   The World Council of Churches cancels a special consultation in South Africa because of unacceptable conditions imposed on it by Prime Minister Vorster.
1971 15 June   South Africa:Signs amendment of Article 50(A) of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
1971 20 June   At the meetings of Council of Ministers of the OAU, dialogue with South Africa is firmly rejected.
1971 21 June   The International Court of Justice at The Hague declares that South Africa is under obligation to withdraw its administration from Namibia immediately and thus put an end to its occupation of the territory. John Vorster reacts by indicating that as the judgment is only advisory, it can not be considered binding, and South Africa will act as it sees fit.
1971 22 June   A Pretoria court rules that the former leader of the banned PAC, Robert Sobukwe, will not be allowed to use his exit permit (granted by the Minister of the Interior) to leave South Africa permanently because the Minister of Justice refuses to lift his banning order confining him to the magisterial district of Kimberley.
1971 25 June   At the first Wages Board meeting where students make a presentation, students lead evidence on the cement products industry. In the weeks before the meeting, students produce and distribute pamphlets outside factories, which explain the procedures of the Wage Board and the kind of evidence that will make a presentation effective. Workers are encouraged to draw up an inventory of their expenses to show that their current minimum wage is too low. More importantly workers are encouraged to attend the Board’s meeting.
1971 27 June   The Chairman of Armscor announces that under an agreement with a French aviation company, Mirage III and F jet fighters will be built in South Africa with the help of French personnel.
1971 28 June   Father Cosmos Desmond, British born Roman Catholic priest, is placed under house arrest in Johannesburg by an order signed by the Minister of Justice.
1971 30 June   Membership of the Bank for International Settlement is extended to the South African Reserve Bank.
1971 July   The South African Communist Party paper, Inkululeko-Freedom is launched: a sign of underground activities inside the country.
1971 July   Adoption of the South African Students\' Organisation (SASO) policy manifesto, stating the centrality of the Black Consciousness doctrine.
1971 July   A proposal is made at a National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) conference that wages and economic commissions, based on the UND model, be set up at Witwatersrand University (Wits), the University of Cape Town (UCT), Rhodes University (Rhodes) and the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg (UNP). The proposal calls for a national effort to investigate the operation of the Wage Board, for students to present research to Board meetings and assist workers in presenting their demands. Whilst the motion is passed, the challenge to coordinate activities remains.
1971 5 July   The Minister of Information outlines his governments plan for the nine homelands of South Africa in London. They are to become sovereign states in their own right, independent, entitled to maintain their own languages cultures and identities in their own way, according to their own wishes in their own geographical territories.
1971 17 July   South Africa:Signs multilateral treaty on the partial revision of the 1959 radio regulations.
1971 25 July   Joe Kachingwe is appointed Malawis first Ambassador to South Africa and assumes office in Pretoria on 29 July 1971.
1971 27 July   Prime Minister Vorster completes a tour of African homelands in the Northern Transvaal during which he holds talks with leaders of the North Sotho, Tswana and Venda homelands. The importance of working together is emphasized. Regular consultation is promised.
1971 29 July   The International Court of Justice in The Hague unanimously condemns the continuing presence of South Africa in South West Africa and defines the legal consequences.
1971 2 August   The trial of the Very Rev. Gonville Aubie ffrench-Beytagh begins in the Pretoria Supreme Court. Sidney Kentridge appears as Council for the Defence. The Dean himself explains his attitudes and beliefs in evidence given by him on 14-20 September 1971.
1971 4 August   The government gives limited powers of internal self-government to homeland, Damaraland, in Namibia.
1971 5 August   The Minister of Defence says that South Africa has become so self-sufficient in the manufacture of arms that she is considering exporting weapons. European countries have accepted that military equipment of a high quality is being produced.
1971 7 August   A Malagasy government delegation arrives for a five-day visit aimed at consolidating relations between the two countries. It is agreed to establish a permanent joint commission to explore further fields of co-operation.
1971 10 August   Eleven bombs explode, scattering ANC propaganda leaflets in the four major cities. The blasts occur twelve months after similar actions in the same cities.
1971 16 August - 20 August   President Hastings Banda, President of Malawi, pays a state visit to South Africa, meeting the State President and the Prime Minister. On his return, he declares that 99% of the Africans whom he met supported his policy of contact with Pretoria.
1971 25 August   The leader of the Zulu Territorial Authority, Chief Buthelezi, calls for a National Convention of all races in South Africa to decide the countrys future political direction. John Vorster rejects this completely, but it is supported as a constructive proposal by both the opposition United Party and the Progressive Party.
1971 30 August   The government announces programmes for expanded development and augmented political powers for the Ovambo and Kavango homelands in Namibia.
1971 September   2000 stevedores threaten to strike if their wages are not raised. David Hemson, a student conducting research on the stevedores, begins to play a more active role as an advocate for the stevedores. Their demand is for a R14 wage increase, still below the PDL. The Wages Commission is instrumental in getting the attention of the White press, especially in terms of wages being below the poverty datum line.
1971 11 September   The Australian Cricket Board decides to withdraw its invitation to the South African Cricket Team to tour Australia. Minister of Sport F.W. Waring blames acts of anarchy and threats of a misguided minority for this decision.
1971 15 September - 17 December   At the twenty-fifth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, six resolutions denounce the South African governments apartheid policy.
1971 18 September   During a meeting with representatives of the nine member churches of the World Council of Churches in South Africa, Prime Minister Vorster reaffirms that he will not consider allowing a WCC delegation to come to South Africa under any conditions. Nor will he allow any funds to be sent from South Africa to the World Council.
1971 23 September   Signs multilateral treaty for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of civil aviation.
1971 26 September   Minister of Coloured Affairs, J.J. Loots announces that larger Coloured group areas will gradually be transformed into fully fledged municipalities, under the Coloured Persons Representative Council.
1971 28 September   President Idi Amin of Uganda offers to dispatch a ten-man investigatory mission to South Africa. South Africa replies by inviting Amin himself, or one or more members of his government instead - an alternative which proves unacceptable.

Signs Customs Convention on the Temporary Importation of Professional and
1971 30 September   It is officially announced that the British and South African naval units will engage in a month of joint manoeuvres in South African waters from 4 October to 3 November 1971.

South Africa:Signs amendment to the trade agreement of 20 August 1932 with Great Britain.
1971 October   The new leader of the Progressive Party, Cohn Eglin, together with Helen Suzman, undertake a visit to seven black African states.
1971 4 October   Chief Leabua Jonathan, Prime Minister of Lesotho, warns that violent confrontation between blacks and whites will be an inevitable consequence of apartheid. Mr Vorster responds with restraint, in the interest of friendship.
1971 4 October - 28 October   Three leaders of homelands governments - Paramount Chief Kaiser Matanzima (Transkei), Chief Gatsha Buthelezi (Zulu Territorial Authority) and Chief Lucas Mangope (Councillor of the Tswanas) - visit Great Britain at the invitation of the British government to study British institutions and the independence processes undergone by the former High Commission Territories.
1971 5 October   The Prime Minister announces at the National Party Congress the incidences on the border of Zambia and the Caprivi Strip. He reminds the Congress of his previous warnings that South Africa will not tolerate the incursion of communist trained terrorists into South African territory and they will be pursued to the land from where they came.
1971 6 October   The Minister of State of the Ivory Coast, Koffia Ndia, visits South Africa, reraffirming the countrys commitment to dialogue.
1971 7 October   SWAPO claims it was not responsible for placing landmines in the Caprivi Strip and that the guerrillas were not operating from Zambia, but from inside Namibia.
1971 8 October   The United Nations Security Council meets in emergency session to hear a complaint by Zambia against numerous violations by South African forces against the sovereignty, airspace and territorial integrity of Zambia. South Africa categorically rejects the Zambian allegations.
1971 11 October   South Africa:Signs visa agreement with Iran.
1971 12 October   The Security Council unanimously adopts an amended resolution, sponsored by four African states, which declares that army violation of the border of a member-state is contrary to the UN Charter. It calls on South Africa to respect Zambias sovereignty.

South Africa Signs amendments to the multilateral treaty on the safety of life at sea.
1971 13 October   South Africa:Signs treaty with Australia on postal parcels.
1971 15 October   Accepts the accession of Romania to the General Agreement on Tarnfs and Trade.
1971 18 October   The seventh Summit Conference of the Fast and Central African states, held in Mogadishu, adopts a Declaration urging armed struggle to liberate Southern Africa, to which they grant total support. This rejection of South Africas dialogue policy is welcomed by the leaders of both the ANC, Alfred Nzo and the PAC.
1971 23 October   An article appearing in the Daily News argues: “ for those who lightly dismiss the students as ‘immature cranks’, the Commission’s activities provide food for thought. They should not have to fight this battle alone”.
1971 24 October   The Security Police raid more than 100 homes throughout the country in a search for illegal political literature.
1971 28 October - 28 October   It is officially confirmed that one of nineteen Indians detained, Ahmed Timol, a Moslem teacher, has jumped to his death from the tenth floor of the main police building in Johannesburg - the seventeenth death in detention under security laws. Following calls from the opposition and others for a judicial inquiry into deaths of police detainees, the Prime Minister states on the following day, 29 October 1971, that he finds no need for this.

Winnie Mandela is given a six-month suspended sentence for defying a banning order. She is to appear in court on 16 November 1971 on a second similar charge.
1971 29 October   The Prime Minister emphasizes that following the churchs subversive activities, that a comprehensive and serious investigation in connection with terrorism and sabotage can be expected.
1971 November   End- Novemember:Chiefs Buthelezi and Mangope visit West Germany in early November and hold discussions with ministers and officials.
1971 November   2000 Ovambo contract labourers in Windhoek strike for higher wages. There is increased interest by the public and government on the question of Black wages.
1971 1 November   After a protracted trial the Anglican Dean of Johannesburg, the Very Rev. Gonville Aubie ffrench-Beytagh is found guilty on ten points of subversive activities against the state and is sentenced to five years imprisonment with a grant of leave to appeal. The sentence is followed by wide-spread criticism and protests, both within and without the country.
1971 3 November   Please ensure that the event is listed in such a way that is answers the questions WHO? WHAT? WHThe Cape Provincial Council approves the Local Authorities Voters Amendment Ordinance, removing the names of Coloured persons from the common voters rolls of municipal and divisional councils in the Cape Province, depriving them of tights enjoyed for over 100 years.ERE and if interpretation is included WHY? (eg. South Africans vote in the first democratic elections in South Africa).
1971 12 November   The biennial Congress of the United Party requests the government to hold a referendum before sovereign independence is granted to homelands. The party remains opposed to the separate development policy.

Signs amendments to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Accepts the accession of the Congo to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
1971 13 November - 14 November   The World Council of Churches meeting in Geneva states that the sentence against Rev. ffrench-Beytagh will stir up the worlds indignation against South Africa.
1971 16 November   Signs amendments to the Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961.
1971 24 November   Signs agreement with Portugal (for Mozambique) pertaining to rivers of mutual interest.
1971 26 November   Black Affairs Administration Act No 45:

Provided for black self-government in townships.
Commenced: 26 November 1971
Repealed by s 69 of the Black Communities Development Act No 4 of 1984.
1971 29 November   The United Nations General Assembly asks all world governments to apply a full-scale embargo on arms supplies to South Africa, condemns the establishment of Bantustans and asks national and international sports organizations to refuse any recognition to any sporting activity involving racial, religious or political discrimination.
1971 29 November   The General Assembly adopted resolution 2775 D (XXVI) calling for a boycott of sports teams selected in violation of the Olympic principle of non-discrimination. It also condemned the establishment of bantustans and forced removals of African people.
1971 December