The House of Delegates ( af, Raad van Afgevaardigdes) was a body in the Tricameral Parliament of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

which existed from 1984 to 1994. It was reserved for

Indian South Africans Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the ...

. The body was elected twice; in 1984 and 1989. It was the second time in South Africa's history that Indians had ever had any sort of representation at the national level, the first being the

South African Indian Council The South African Indian Council was a body created by the apartheid-era South African government in 1968 to make recommendations to the government about matters affecting Indians. It was the first time that Indians were granted any sort of re ...

. It was originally to be called the Chamber of Deputies. The debating chamber of the House of Delegates located in Marks Building, a new building that was located across the road from

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. The executive arm of the House of Delegates was a Ministers' Council, led by a Chairman. The civil service that dealt with Indian "own affairs" (including education, health and welfare, local government, housing and agriculture) was called Administration: House of Delegates, and was based in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

Elections

Electoral turnouts for elections to the House of Delegates were poor. Election results:

Leadership

The following served as Chairman of the Minister's Council of the House of Delegates: *

Amichand Rajbansi Amichand Rajbansi (14 January 1942 – 29 December 2011) was a South African politician. He was a former Chairman of the Ministers' Council of the House of Delegates Tricameral parliamentary chamber for Indian people, and leader of the Minorit ...

(September 1984 - 31 December 1988 *Kassipershad Ramduth (1 January 1989 - 21 March 1989) (acting) * Jayaram Narainsamy Reddy (21 March 1989 - February 1993) *Bhadra Galu Ranchod (February 1993 - March 1994)

References

{{reflist
SOUTH AFRICA: parliamentary elections House of Delegates, 1989
Defunct national legislatures Defunct organisations based in South Africa Apartheid government Organisations associated with apartheid 1984 establishments in South Africa 1994 disestablishments in South Africa Indian diaspora in South Africa