Sir Francis says: Apartheid, Not All Hate

By Bill Williams

"There is less racial tension in South Africa than in other countries I have visited," the Mayor of Wellington, Sir Francis Kitts, said on Monday.

He was addressing a National Club meeting on a month-long trip ha made to South Africa recently.

"I am in no way advocating or supporting apartheid, but just stating the facts as I saw them," he said.

He was impressed with the way things operated, particularly Bantu hospitals, educational institutions and housing projects.

He was struck by the determination of each race and tribe to retain its particular historical and cultural identity, and language.

"In this sense the strongest supporters of apartheid are probably the Bantu," he said.

Sir Francis did not detect any desire for national representation by the Bantu exercising local autonomy over areas like the Transkei.

He said he could not comment on abuses of the judicial process to silence opponents of apartheid since he had no knowledge of such occurrences.

Sir Francis said he would not like to predict the ultimate outcome of apartheid.

But it was likely that the Bantu and other coloured races would join the whites in resisting an invasion from the African countries to the north, he said.

"They are South African first: concern with racial problems comes second."