Barclays and Shell

The huge Cabora Bassa dam project in Mozambique was a collaboration between South Africa, Rhodesia and Portugal. Barclays Bank was first targeted by anti-apartheid campaigners because it was one of the British companies involved. The project was intended to supply electricity to South Africa.

Barclays Bank was first targeted by anti-apartheid campaigners because it was involved in the Cabora Bassa dam project in Mozambique. The campaign against it grew because it was one of the biggest banks in Southern Africa. The Dambusters Mobilising Committee was a coalition of groups including the AAM set up on the initiative of the African National Congress.

The huge Cabora Bassa dam project in Mozambique was a collaboration between South Africa, Rhodesia and Portugal. The project was intended to supply electricity to South Africa. This pamphlet was written for the Dambusters Mobilising Committee, a coalition of groups set up to campaign against the involvement of British companies in the project. The pamphlet and a campaign poster were funded by the WCC’s Programme to Combat Racism.

Anti-apartheid supporters campaigned to force Barclays Bank to withdraw from South Africa from 1970 until the bank pulled out in 1986. The Haslemere Group played a leading part in initiating the campaign. In 1971 it pioneered the tactic of buying shares to protest at a company annual general meeting.

Students were at the forefront of the boycott of Barclays Bank. Student unions banned Barclays from freshers fairs and students picketed Barclays branches to persuade others to close their accounts. This leaflet set out the ways in which the bank supported apartheid.

Barclays Bank was first targeted by anti-apartheid campaigners because it guaranteed a loan for the Cabora Bassa dam project in Mozambique. The project planned to supply electricity to South Africa. This poster was produced by the Haslemere Group, one of the organisations that set up the Dambusters Mobilising Committee to oppose Western involvement in the project. The campaign against Barclays quickly escalated because Barclays DCO was South Africa’s biggest high street bank.

Anti-apartheid supporters campaigned to force Barclays Bank to withdraw from South Africa from 1970 until the bank pulled out in 1986. This booklet describes Barclays long history of involvement in South Africa. It set out the many ways in which Barclays supported apartheid. The booklet was produced in 1975 by the AAM and the Haslemere Group, which played a leading part in initiating the Barclays campaign.

This report was an update of the pamphlet published by the AAM and the Haslemere Group in 1975. It showed how Barclays co-operated with the apartheid government and argued that its presence in South Africa led to increased emigration, trade and investment there.