Congress organisations in the Transvaal, Natal and the Orange Free State exhibited considerable diversity in attitudes to and engagement with black labour. Often there was general support for black labour rights in the branches though at times there could be aloofness from radical struggles. In both the Transvaal and Natal, continuing regional rivalries tended to dissipate Congress strength. The effects of the Depression were severe throughout the country and black workers suffered most from its effects. This helped stimulate expressions of solidarity from within ANC circles. What made the 1930s different from earlier decades was firstly, the scale of economic growth and Depression, and secondly, the fact that by now Congress in the provinces had accumulated considerable political experience. Whilst they received little support from the national ANC given its relative inaction, this experience and the trust forged in earlier decades helped the ANC in these provinces, as in the Cape, survive a difficult decade and lay the basis for growth in the 1940s. In particular, the Rand continued to be the focus of urbanisation and this would gradually influence greater worker involvement in black politics.

The Transvaal

The 1930s in the Transvaal were marked economically first by Depression, then by accelerating industrialisation accompanied by greater unionisation (see Chapter 2). The rise of Afrikaner politics and cultural revivalism drove white politics further to the right, torpedoing liberal dreams of enhanced black rights. Against this backdrop, the Transvaal African Congress (TAC), mainly based on the industrialising Rand, continued to criticise oppression. In 1930, for example, it deplored the violent smashing of Western Cape ANC radicalism as “proof of the Government's inability to settle without force its oppression” of black people. To take another example, a TAC meeting at Bon Accord in 1934 expressed alarm at pass law intensification. A relatively radical—in comparison with other contemporary African political organisations—TAC leadership initiated such committed stances.

Simon Peter Matseke served as TAC president from 1933 to 1941. A highranking ANC leader with some direct working-class experience and exposure to radical ideas as part of Gumede's executive of 1927-1930, Matseke continued to serve on Seme's executive as assistant speaker and chairman of committees. He was prominent in national ANC conferences throughout the 1930s, but was most effective at the provincial level.