African Grievances against Colonial Rule: Economic Grievances

Land was one of the core grievances.

• The racial division of the land was the main cause of the liberation struggle
• All Rhodesian Prime Ministers were farmers
• The institution of the Land Apportionment Act in 1930 saw Africans being evicted from their land to be resettled in reserves which were very unproductive
• Although the Land Apportionment Act 1930 was amended about 60 times, it failed to address the key issues which was unfair land distribution
• The Native Land Husbandry Act was the amendment to the Land Apportionment Act but it contributed the more to the resistance of African anger
• Africans were now required to own 5 head of cattle and 8 acres of land per family
• Excess cattle were sold by the white settlers at low prices
• Native lands were overpopulated and over used whilst whites lands were underutilized
• Africans were highly discriminated against in their work places
• They were given low paying and high labour demanding jobs whilst their European counterparts enjoyed white collar and supervisory jobs
• Acts to ensure Africans were not recognized as workers were put in place such as the Masters and Servants Act (1901) and the industrial Conciliation Act (1934)
• Africans were also not allowed to form trade unions until 1959 which could forward their grievances to their employers
• Africans were not allowed to strike under the Law and Order Maintenance Act of 1960
• Under the act strike was an offense punishable by imprisonment or death
• Africans earned very low wages and there was a huge gap between Africans and Europeans
• In 1974 the average wage for Africans was $266 and for Europeans was $3 580

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