The government introduced legislation Friday that would repeal the Separate Amenities Act, a pillar of apartheid that has allowed racial segregation of all public amenities for nearly 40 years.
The legislation, which would take effect Oct. 15, will be submitted to Parliament on Monday, where it is expected to pass by mid-June, the South African Press Associated reported.Since 1953, the Separate Amenities Act has authorized provincial governments, municipalities and privately owned entertainment establishments to reserve facilities for whites. If the law is repealed, public bathrooms, libraries and transportation - as well as privately owned restaurants and nightclubs - could no longer be segregated.
Many public amenities already have been integrated in Johannesburg, but dated laws remain on the books.
The effort to repeal the Separate Amenities Act was the latest move by President F.W. de Klerk to end apartheid. He has said he intends to give South Africa's black majority the vote by 1994, but he has stopped short of endorsing black majority rule.
The largest white opposition party, the Conservative Party, is the only parliamentary group expected to oppose repealing the Separate Amenities Act. But the party does not have enough votes to block it.
Hernus Kriel, minister of provincial affairs and planning, said the legislation would not take effect until October to give those affected time to prepare for the changes.