Surplus People's Project

Surplus People's Project
Name	Surplus People's Project
Formation	1970s
Type	Advocacy group
Headquarters	South Africa
Region served	South Africa
Leader title	Convenor

Surplus People's Project The Surplus People's Project was a South African advocacy organization formed in the 1970s that campaigned for the rights of people displaced by Apartheid, influx control and forced removals associated with Group Areas Act and Natives Land Act (1913). It worked at the intersection of urban and rural displacement, linking struggles in townships, homelands, and informal settlements across provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape. The Project connected with a wide range of activists, organizations and events including the Black Consciousness Movement, United Democratic Front (South Africa), African National Congress and international solidarity networks such as Anti-Apartheid Movement and Amnesty International.

History and Origins

The Project emerged amid heightened activism after the Soweto Uprising, during a period also marked by resistance to policies like Group Areas Act removals in Cape Town, forced relocations linked to Bantustans such as Transkei and Ciskei, and uprisings influenced by leaders like Steve Biko and organizations including the Black People's Convention. Founding figures drew on experiences from campaigns around forced removals in District Six, eviction struggles in Alexandra (Johannesburg), and rural resistance in areas affected by Betterment schemes implemented in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape. Early alliances included connections with trade unionists from Congress of South African Trade Unions and civic activists from the South African Council of Churches.

Objectives and Activities

The Project aimed to document forced removals associated with laws including the Group Areas Act and land dispossession stemming from the Natives Land Act (1913), to provide legal and logistical support in eviction cases, and to mobilize public opinion through research and publications. Activities included producing reports akin to work by Black Sash, conducting fact-finding missions alongside advocates such as Helen Suzman supporters, and lobbying provincial administrations like Transvaal and national bodies influenced by ministers comparable to C.R. Swart and B. J. Vorster. The Project disseminated material to international actors including United Nations committees, sympathetic parliamentary groups in the United Kingdom and activists linked to the American Committee on Africa.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

The group operated through coalitions rather than traditional hierarchies, coordinating convenors, volunteers and grassroots committees in townships such as Soweto, Langa and Khayelitsha. Leadership included convenors and regional coordinators who worked closely with lawyers from organizations like the Legal Resources Centre (South Africa) and human rights activists associated with figures such as Frank Chikane and Zola Skweyiya. It interfaced with civic bodies like the Civic Associations in Durban and community organisations aligned with the United Democratic Front (South Africa). International liaison often involved contacts in networks tied to International Defence and Aid Fund and European solidarity groups in Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.

Campaigns and Impact

Campaigns targeted high-profile removals in locations including District Six, Sophiatown, Ulundi-adjacent displacements and municipal clearances in Port Elizabeth and Durban. The Project documented cases that fed into litigation before courts influenced by precedents from judges linked to the Appellate Division of South Africa, and contributed evidence used by international observers at forums such as United Nations General Assembly sessions on apartheid. Collaborations with organizations like Families of the Missing and community leaders in Alexandra (Johannesburg) amplified campaigns that pressured municipal councils in Cape Town and bureaucracies overseen by officials akin to those in Homelands administrations.

Relationship with Trade Unions and Community Groups

The Project maintained close ties with trade unions including the Congress of South African Trade Unions and local unions organized under federations similar to National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, working jointly on eviction resistance in industrial townships such as Wynberg and Boksburg. It partnered with community groups like the Black Sash, United Democratic Front (South Africa), township committees in Mamelodi and faith-based networks associated with the South African Council of Churches. These relationships enabled coordinated mass actions alongside strike committees, funeral committees and civic organisations in provinces such as Northern Cape and Free State.

Criticism and Controversies

Critics from conservative Afrikaner organisations including entities aligned with the National Party (South Africa) accused the Project of fomenting unrest and aligning with exiled organisations like the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. Debates arose between some community leaders and activists over strategies, echoing tensions present between figures such as Albert Luthuli-affiliated moderates and more radical elements linked to Umkhonto we Sizwe veterans. Allegations by state security apparatuses comparable to the South African Bureau of State Security targeted the Project, while some NGOs questioned methods used in publicity and documentation.

Legacy and Influence on Housing Policy

The Project influenced post-apartheid housing debates, informing policies in the Government of National Unity period and contributing to civil society inputs used in drafting measures like the Housing Act, 1997 and land reform frameworks including Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994. Its documentation provided resources for commissions akin to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and served as a model for later community-based organisations working on tenure security in townships such as Khutsong and informal settlements in Gauteng. The Project's records continue to be referenced by historians, legal advocates and NGOs involved in restitution cases brought before bodies including the Land Claims Court and parliamentary committees in the Republic of South Africa.

Category:Anti-apartheid organisations Category:Housing rights organizations Category:History of South Africa