The institutionalization of contract labour in Namibia

The South West African Native Labour Association (SWANLA) has received much attention by scholars of Namibia as the primary source of exploitation tha t eventually led to the rise of the independence movement led by SWAPO. Lit tle attention has been given to SWANLA's predecessors, the Southern Labour Organisation (SLO) and the Northern Labour Organisation (NLO), which recrui ted and administered contract labour during the inter-war years. These two organizations played a fundamental role in breaking down traditional Africa n societies in Namibia, and in creating a wage-labour economy in the southw est African territory. This study uses archival documents from the SLO and the NLO To reveal how the contract labour system was institutionalized in N amibia after World War One. This analysis confirms the centrality of the di amond industry for Explaining the nature of contract labour, and much of Na mibian politics itself, during the twentieth century in Namibia.