Minor Index Update – 11 June 2025
Five race laws added (explained in turn below), of which three are operative and two are uncommenced. The number of operative race laws therefore revised from 142 to 145, and total race laws revised from 319 to 324.
Minor methodological change. Racial Acts of Parliament that have been adopted onto the Statute Book (that is, adopted by Parliament and signed by the President) but not yet commenced (that is, no date for their entering into operation has been proclaimed, or that date has not yet been reached), will now appear in the Index itself rather than on a separate “Upcoming Race Law” page. These are tagged, under their “Operative Status,” as “Uncommenced,” or in the case of racial amendments to previously non-racial Acts, as “Amdt Uncommenced.” The page “Upcoming Race Law” has been removed from the website.
Clarity has additionally been added onto the methodology page that Acts simply tagged “Racial” under “Race Law Status” in the Index are, to the best of our knowledge, originally racial rather than subsequently racialised through amendment.
Clarity has been added to the homepage that the 122 Acts of Parliament adopted “during” the democratic era represent the minimum, as certain pre-1994 Acts have been retrospectively racialised by post-1994 laws.
The Rental Housing Act (50 of 1999) was previously listed as “Upcoming Race Law,” however upon further investigation was found to contain an operative racial provision. The Act requires that government incentivise and utilise other mechanisms focused on promoting affordable rental housing among historically disadvantaged persons. The Rental Housing Amendment Act (35 of 2014) has not yet commenced, and once it does will further racialise the Act by requiring that the composition of the Rental Housing Tribunal must be broadly representative in terms of language, gender, race, and disability.
The racial provision of the National Environmental Management Act (107 of 1998), previously an “Upcoming Race Law,” has commenced with effect from 30 June 2023. The Act was racialised by the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act (2 of 2022), requiring that the participation of black professionals in the environmental management sector be promoted by organs of state.
The racial provision of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (62 of 1997), which was an “Upcoming Race Law,” has commenced with effect from 1 April 2024. The Act was racialised by the Extension of Security of Tenure Amendment Act (2 of 2018), establishing a Land Rights Management Board, the nominations committee of which must be broadly representative of the racial groups, communities, and interests affected by the Act.
The newly added Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act (23 of 2024) contains multiple racial provisions directed at the inclusion of black persons in the sector. The Act also renames the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (28 of 2002) to the Mineral Resources Development Act. The Act is uncommenced.
The Civil Aviation Act (13 of 2009) has been amended and racialised by the Civil Aviation Amendment Act (22 of 2021), which amendment is yet to commence. The Amendment Act empowers the Minister to establish a structure that must pursue the transformation of the industry.