Coloured and Indian inhabitants are allowed to live in 'white' South Africa but are segregated in separate racial group areas. The Group Areas Act, No. 41 of 1950, provides the apparatus for the enforcement of racial segregation, including the expropriation of property and removal and resettlement of families and traders "disqualified" from remaining where they may be living or trading.
The Group Areas Act applies to Whites, Coloureds and Indians. The location of African townships is determined by the Blacks (Urban Areas) Consolidation Act, No. 25 of 1945. The removal and control of the movements of Africans in urban areas are regulated by a host of laws, collectively known as the "Pass Laws". Draft bills published in November 1980 contained proposals for making the Group Areas Act the basis of the controls of Africans as well. But they have been withdrawn and at present it seems unlikely that the Group Areas Act will be used for this purpose.
During 1980 4,016 families throughout South Africa were moved in terms of the provisions of the Groups Areas Act. Of this total, 31 families were White, 2,842 Coloured and 1,143 Indian.
This brings to a total 116,272 families that have been moved by the Group Areas Act since it was first applied in 1957. Approximately 20,000 families are still due to be moved.
Of this total 2,265 families were white (1.9%), 77,751 families Coloured (66.9%) and 36,256 families Indian 31.2%).
At the end of 1980 there were 841 group areas for Whites comprising an area of 767,544 ha, 581 for Coloureds comprising 93,848 ha and 258 for Indians on 45,747 ha.
