The Native Laws Commission, commonly known as the Fagan Commission, was appointed by the
South African Government
The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary ...
in 1946 to investigate changes to the system of
segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of human ...
. Its members were
Henry Allan Fagan, A. S. Welsh, A. L. Barrett, E. E. von Maltitz, and S. J. Parsons. It has been described as "
guably the most liberal official document produced in the segregation era."
[.]
The report
The commission's main recommendation was that "influx control" of African people to urban areas should be relaxed.
[: " tis clear that the old cry 'Send them back' is no longer a solution to the problem…"] This in turn would increase the flow of
labour and prevent the problem of migrant labour living in distant rural areas. Another recommendation was the creation of a stabilised population of African workers within urban areas to create a reliable workforce for business as well as an increased consumer base for retailers.
The report was published at a time when
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (baptismal name Jan Christiaan Smuts, 24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as P ...
' popularity was low and his detractors had more support. In response, the
National Party created their own commission, called the
Sauer Commission
The Sauer Commission (South Africa), was created in 1948 largely in response to the Fagan Commission. It was appointed by the Herenigde Nasionale Party and favoured even stricter segregation laws.
The Sauer Commission was concerned with the 'pr ...
. Its report suggested the exact opposite of the Fagan Commission: segregation should continue and be implemented across all social and economic areas of life. The rise of postwar
apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
can be attributed to the Sauer commission.
Notes
References
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Anti-racism in South Africa
Apartheid government
Organisations associated with apartheid
{{Apartheid-sa-stub