Govt will abide by court ruling

Press, 24 June 1983, Page 6

Govt will abide by court ruling

NZPA-Reuter Johannesburg A South African court’s decision granting thousands of black workers the right to live in urban areas would not be challenged by the Government, but legislation would be introduced to avoid “unrealistic expectations,” by black families, a Cabinet Minister said yesterday. Dr Piet Koomhof, the Minister of Co-operation and Development who oversees black affairs, spoke to reporters after weeks of speculation over whether the Government would try to have Parliament overturn the ruling.

It has been seen as poten-

tially undermining South Africa’s policy of greatly limiting the number of families entitled to live in the black townships which adjoin most white cities. The ruling, passed by the country’s highest court unanimously last month, said that black migrants who had worked in South African cities for 15 years, or 10 years with the same employer, were entitled to parmanent residence in urban areas. A previous court ruling had held that workers with such rights could have their families live with them. “The Government is obviously hound by the judg-

ment and it accepts responsibility for all its implications,” Dr Koornhof said. But the Government would introduce legislation to “clarify” the situation of wives and children of migrant workers who may now be eligible for urban rights, he said. It has been estimated that the court ruling could affect hundreds of thousands of blacks. The Black Sash, a civil rights group, has estimated that there are between 1.5 and two million such migrant workers. Many are already living in the townships in breach of tSe law.