92-737: East Caprivi or Itenge was a bantustan and later a non-geographic ethnic-based second-tier authority, the Representative Authority of the Caprivis in South West Africa (present-day Namibia ), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Masubiya people . It was set up in 1972, in the very corner of the Namibian panhandle called the Caprivi Strip . It
184-645: A United States House of Representatives resolution urging the President not to recognise Transkei, the South African government intensely lobbied lawmakers to oppose the bill. Arbitrary and unrecognized amateur radio call signs were created for the independent states and QSL cards were sent by operators using them, but the International Telecommunication Union never accepted these stations as legitimate. Each TBVC state extended recognition to
276-603: A book in which he argued that true liberation could only be gained through a confederation of black states; he described Transkei as a positive precedent and maintained that the liberation struggle chosen by the African National Congress would not be successful. The United Nations Security Council supported moves not to recognise Transkei, and in Resolution 402 (1976) condemned moves by South Africa to pressure Lesotho to recognise Transkei by closing its borders with
368-459: A general blueprint for the stages of constitutional development of all homelands (except Transkei) from the establishment of Territorial Authorities up to full independence. By 1984, all ten homelands in South Africa had attained self-government and four of them ( Transkei , Boputhatswana , Venda and Ciskei ) had been declared fully independent between 1976 and 1981. The following table shows
460-460: A larger, wealthier and more populous entity, had long sought the annexation of Ciskei, and had undertaken a series of military raids on Ciskei. This included an attack on leader Lennox Sebe's compound, with the apparent goal of taking him hostage, in order to force a merger of the two Bantustans. The South African government intervened to warn the Transkei government off. General Bantu Holomisa of
552-496: A number of affairs like land tenure, agriculture, education up to the level of primary school teachers' training, health services and social welfare and pensions) on the basis of ethnicity only and no longer based on geographically defined areas. Building upon institutions that had already been in existence since 1925 and 1962, respectively, representative authorities were also instituted for the white and Coloured population groups. No such representative authorities were established for
644-498: A part of its policy of apartheid . The term, first used in the late 1940s, was coined from Bantu (meaning "people" in some of the Bantu languages ) and -stan (a suffix meaning "land" in the Persian language and some Persian-influenced languages of western , central , southern Asia and Eastern Europe ). It subsequently came to be regarded as a disparaging term by some critics of
736-416: A person's place of birth; in addition, any individual born within the republic's territory was eligible for citizenship, excluding those whose father held diplomatic immunity or was deemed an illegal immigrant and whose mother was a non-citizen. Dual citizenship at birth was not permitted, and renunciation of one's citizenship was legally possible, but rendered the individual stateless in most cases. In effect,
828-495: A principle remained in force, and the apartheid regime went on to rely on the Bantustans as one of the main pillars of its policy in dealing with the black population. Until 1990, attempts continued to urge self-governing homelands to opt for independence (e.g. Lebowa, Gazankulu and KwaZulu) and on occasion the governments of self-governing homelands (e.g. KwaNdebele) themselves expressed interest in obtaining eventual independence. It
920-546: A rejection of the Bantustan system in general: the goal of the apartheid regime during the second half of the 1980s was to "modernize" the organisational framework of apartheid while leaving its fundamental principles, including the homelands, unchanged. The government was forced to accept the permanent presence of blacks in urban areas as well as the practical unfeasibility of the hitherto very strict forms of "influx control" (replacing it by "softer" means of control), not to mention
1012-471: A relatively safe area for the ANC's activities. In 1990, Holomisa himself evaded a failed attempt to be ousted from his post, and when asked about the fate of his opponents, he claimed that they had died in the ensuing battles with TDF soldiers. It was later found that those deemed responsible for the foiled coup had only suffered minor injuries, but were subsequently executed without trial. The Transkei government
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#17328522023021104-472: A role in South African politics since their abolition. Some had entered their own parties into the first non-racial election while others joined the ANC. Mangosuthu Buthelezi was chief minister of his KwaZulu homeland from 1976 until 1994. In post-apartheid South Africa he has served as president of the Inkatha Freedom Party and Minister of Home Affairs. Bantubonke Holomisa , who was a general in
1196-404: A significant precedent and historic turning point in South Africa's policy of apartheid and "separate development"; it was the first of four territories to be declared independent of South Africa. Throughout its existence, it remained an internationally unrecognised, diplomatically isolated, politically unstable de facto one-party state , which at one point broke relations with South Africa,
1288-399: A society relatively free from racial discrimination. The leaders of the Bantustans, despite their collaboration with the apartheid regime, occasionally criticized the South African government's racial policies and called for the repeal or softening of apartheid laws (most of which were repealed in nominally independent states). Various plans for a federal solution were at times mooted, both by
1380-475: A spirit of friendship and collaboration. In their own areas, black citizens would enjoy full rights." Verwoerd argued that the Bantustans were the "original homes" of the black peoples of South Africa. In 1951, the government of Daniel François Malan introduced the Bantu Authorities Act to establish "homelands" allocated to the country's black ethnic groups. These amounted to 13% of the country's land,
1472-488: A time. On the other hand, only 40% of Bophuthatswana's population worked outside the 'homeland' because the homeland was able to create industrial sites like Zone 15 and Babelegi. The homelands were extremely unpopular among the urban black population, many of whom lived in squalor in slum housing . Their working conditions were often equally poor, as they were denied any significant rights or protections in South Africa proper. The allocation of individuals to specific homelands
1564-543: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Namibian history -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as a Bantu homeland, a black homeland, a black state or simply known as a homeland; Afrikaans : Bantoestan ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia ), as
1656-468: The Bantu homelands was intended to draw a parallel with the creation of Pakistan and India (" Hindustan "), which had taken place just a few months before at the end of 1947, and was coined by supporters of the policy. However, it quickly became a pejorative term, with the National Party preferring the term "homelands". As Nelson Mandela explained in a 1959 article: The newspapers have christened
1748-608: The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act of 1970, the government stripped black South Africans of their South African citizenship, depriving them of their few remaining political and civil rights in South Africa, and declared them to be citizens of these homelands. The government of South Africa declared that four of the South African Bantustans were independent— Transkei , Bophuthatswana , Venda , and Ciskei (the so-called "TBVC States"), but this declaration
1840-851: The Cape Province for the Xhosa nation. KwaZulu, for the Zulu nation in the Province of Natal , was headed by a member of the Zulu royal family chief Mangosuthu ("Gatsha") Buthelezi in the name of the Zulu king. Lesotho and Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) were not Bantustans; they have been independent countries and former British protectorates. These countries are mostly or entirely surrounded by South African territory and are almost totally dependent on South Africa. They have never had any formal political dependence on South Africa and were recognised as sovereign states by
1932-567: The Himba and San peoples (mainly occupying their former homelands of Kaokoland and Bushmanland). These ethnic second-tier governments were de facto suspended in May 1989, at the start of the transition to independence , and de jure abolished on 21 March 1990 (the day Namibia became independent) in accordance with Schedule 8 of the Constitution of Namibia . The Basters lobbied unsuccessfully to maintain
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#17328522023022024-514: The Inkatha Freedom Party , which was the ruling party of KwaZulu. But since especially the African National Congress made it clear that the principles of "one man - one vote" and a unitary state were non-negotiable, confederal schemes were eventually dropped. Because of this, the Inkatha Freedom Party threatened to boycott the April 1994 general election that ended apartheid and decided only in
2116-598: The Lesotho border). South Africa put East Griqualand under the jurisdiction of the Cape Province instead of Transkei, thus making it an exclave of the Cape Province . The majority of the population was Xhosa -speaking, and according to the Constitution of the Republic of Transkei, Xhosa was the sole official language, but laws had to be translated into Sotho and English in order for them to come into effect, and Afrikaans
2208-661: The Maluti a Phofung council where it is the largest opposition party. The Ximoko Party , which ruled Gazankulu, has a presence in local government in Giyani . Similarly, the former KwaNdebele chief minister George Mahlangu and others formed the Sindawonye Progressive Party which is one of the major opposition parties in Thembisile Hani Local Municipality and Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality (encompassing
2300-499: The Natives Resettlement Act, 1954 that reshaped South African society such that whites would be the demographic majority. The creation of the homelands or Bantustans was a central element of this strategy, as the long-term goal was to make the Bantustans independent. As a result, blacks would lose their South African citizenship and voting rights, allowing whites to remain in control of South Africa. The term "Bantustan" for
2392-689: The Transkei Defence Force forced the resignation and exile of Prime Minister George Matanzima in October 1987 and then overthrew Matanzima's successor, Prime Minister Stella Sigcau in a bloodless coup d'état in December 1987. Holomisa became the Head of State, and the Transkei was from that point onwards effectively in (often uneasy) alliance with the African National Congress and provided
2484-539: The bantustans , and the remainder of the land was called the Police Zone . Forthwith, all non-white people employed in the Police Zone became migrant workers , and pass laws were established to police movement in and out of the bantustans. The combined territory of all bantustans was roughly equal in size to the Police Zone. However, all bantustans were predominantly rural and excluded major towns. All harbours, most of
2576-435: The first democratic elections began) in terms of section 1(2) and Schedule 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993 ("Interim Constitution"). The drive to achieve this was spearheaded by the African National Congress (ANC) as a central element of its programme of reform. Reincorporation was mostly achieved peacefully, although there was some resistance from the local elites, who stood to lose out on
2668-433: The uMzimkhulu area to the east, each reflecting colonially designated tribal areas where Xhosa speaking peoples predominated. A large portion of the area was mountainous and not suitable for agriculture. The territorial dispute with South Africa that led to the break in relations was a patch of territory called East Griqualand (which was situated between the main and eastern segments of Transkei with its northern limit at
2760-454: The Bantustan governments and by opposition parties in South Africa as well as circles inside the white ruling National Party. In January 1985, State President P. W. Botha declared that blacks in South Africa proper would no longer be deprived of South African citizenship in favour of Bantustan citizenship and that black citizens within the independent Bantustans could reapply for South African citizenship; F. W. de Klerk stated on behalf of
2852-434: The Bantustans differed from those in South Africa proper. The South African elite often took advantage of these differences, for example by constructing large casinos , such as Sun City in the homeland of Bophuthatswana . Bophuthatswana also possessed deposits of platinum , and other natural resources, which made it the wealthiest of the Bantustans. However, the homelands were only kept afloat by massive subsidies from
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2944-458: The Bantustans with the complete end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994. Beginning in 1913, successive white-minority South African governments established "reserves" for the black population in order to racially segregate them from the white population , similar to the creation of Indian reservations in the United States. The Natives Land Act, 1913 , limited blacks to seven percent of
3036-740: The Bantustans. The government made clear that its ultimate aim was the total removal of the black population from South Africa. Connie Mulder , the Minister of Plural Relations and Development, told the House of Assembly on 7 February 1978: If our policy is taken to its logical conclusion as far as the black people are concerned, there will be not one black man with South African citizenship ... Every black man in South Africa will eventually be accommodated in some independent new state in this honourable way and there will no longer be an obligation on this Parliament to accommodate these people politically. But this goal
3128-577: The Motsweda Ba hurutshe-Boo-Manyane tribe of the Tswana and head of Bophuthatswana is president of the United Christian Democratic Party , effectively a continuation of the ruling party of the homeland. Oupa Gqozo , the last ruler of Ciskei , entered his African Democratic Movement in the 1994 elections but was unsuccessful. The Dikwankwetla Party , which ruled Qwaqwa , remains a force in
3220-569: The National Party during the 1987 general election that "every effort to turn the tide [of black workers] streaming into the urban areas failed. It does not help to bluff ourselves about this. The economy demands the permanent presence of the majority of blacks in urban areas... They cannot stay in South Africa year after year without political representation." In March 1990, de Klerk, who succeeded Botha as State President in 1989, announced that his government would not grant independence to any more Bantustans. However, These remarks were not meant as
3312-734: The Nationalists' plan as one for "Bantustans". The hybrid word is, in many ways, extremely misleading. It relates to the partitioning of India , after the reluctant departure of the British, and as a condition thereof, into two separate States, Hindustan and Pakistan. There is no real parallel with the Nationalists' proposals, for (a) India and Pakistan constitute two completely separate and politically independent States, (b) Muslims enjoy equal rights in India ; Hindus enjoy equal rights in Pakistan , (c) Partition
3404-557: The Republic of Transkei was a parliamentary democracy which allowed for a multi-party system . During its existence, six parties registered to compete in elections at different points of its history. Until the military coup of 1987, the Transkei National Independence Party remained the ruling party, while the Transkei People's Freedom Party constituted the official opposition. Because its founder, Cromwell Diko,
3496-483: The South African government; for instance, by 1985 in Transkei , 85% of the homeland's income came from direct transfer payments from Pretoria . The Bantustans' governments were invariably corrupt and little wealth trickled down to the local populations, who were forced to seek employment as "guest workers" in South Africa proper. Millions of people had to work in often appalling conditions, away from their homes for months at
3588-562: The TBVC states) were intended to be fully sovereign. These areas received little attention from the colonial and later South African governments however, and were still very undeveloped. This greatly decreased these states' ability to govern and made them very reliant on the South African government. Throughout the existence of the independent Bantustans, South Africa remained the only country to recognise their independence. The South African government lobbied for their recognition. In 1976, leading up to
3680-480: The Whites. The term "Bantustan" is therefore a complete misnomer, and merely tends to help the Nationalists perpetrate a fraud. "While apartheid was an ideology born of the will to survive or, put differently, the fear of extinction, Afrikaner leaders differed on how best to implement it. While some were satisfied with segregationist policies placing them at the top of a social and economic hierarchy, others truly believed in
3772-580: The apartheid state apparatus and radical pro-apartheid groups like the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging . With the demise of the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994, all Bantustans (both nominally independent and self-governing) were dismantled and their territories reincorporated into the Republic of South Africa with effect from 27 April 1994 (the day on which the Interim Constitution, which formally ended apartheid, came into force and
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3864-440: The apartheid-era government's homelands . The Pretoria government established ten Bantustans in South Africa, and ten in neighbouring South West Africa (then under South African administration), for the purpose of concentrating the members of designated ethnic groups, thus making each of those territories ethnically homogeneous as the basis for creating autonomous nation states for South Africa's different black ethnic groups . Under
3956-512: The area beyond [the river] Kei ), officially the Republic of Transkei ( Xhosa : iRiphabliki yeTranskei ), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei , a Bantustan for the Xhosa people , and operated as a nominally independent parliamentary democracy . Its capital was Umtata (renamed Mthatha in 2004). Transkei represented
4048-524: The autonomous status of Rehoboth , which had previously been autonomous under German rule , and Basterland. In the former Bantustan of East Caprivi , Lozi nationalists in 1999 launched an unsuccessful insurgency in an attempt to gain independence from Namibia. The land in the Bantustan territories fell to the Namibian state, and is today called "Communal Areas". Transkei Transkei ( / t r æ n ˈ s k eɪ , t r ɑː n -, - ˈ s k aɪ / tran- SKAY , TRAHN -, - SKY , meaning
4140-473: The concept of 'separate but equal'. For the latter, the ideological justification for the classification, segregation, and denial of political rights was the plan to set aside special land reserves for black South Africans, later called 'bantustans' or 'homelands'. Each ethnic group would have its own state with its own political system and economy, and each would rely on its own labour force. These independent states would then coexist alongside white South Africa in
4232-414: The country. Throughout its existence, Transkei's economy remained dependent on that of its larger neighbour , with the local population being recruited as workers into South Africa's Rand mines. Because of a territorial dispute, Matanzima announced on 10 April 1978 that Transkei would break all diplomatic ties with South Africa, including a unilateral withdrawal from the non-aggression pact between
4324-424: The development of different "joint" institutions charged with mutual consultation, deliberation and a number of executive functions in relation to "general affairs" common to all population groups, insofar as these institutions would pose no threat to apartheid and the preservation of overall white rule. This "confederation" would include the so-called "common area"—meaning the bulk of South African territory outside of
4416-503: The head of the newly formed Democratic Progressive Party , Sabata Dalindyebo , king of the Thembu people and vocal opponent of apartheid, for violating the dignity and injuring the reputation of the president. Dalindyebo went into exile in Zambia , a move that marked the end of official opposition politics in Transkei, and in the 1981 election, the ruling Transkei National Independence Party
4508-603: The homeland of Transkei from 1987, has served as the president of the United Democratic Movement since 1997. General Constand Viljoen , an Afrikaner who served as chief of the South African Defence Force , sent 1,500 of his militiamen to protect Lucas Mangope and to contest the termination of Bophuthatswana as a homeland in 1994. He founded the Freedom Front in 1994. Lucas Mangope, former chief of
4600-472: The homelands was expanded in 1959 with the passage of the Bantu Self-Government Act , which set out a plan called " Separate Development ". This enabled the homelands to establish themselves in the long term as self-governing territories and ultimately as nominally fully "independent" states. This process was to be achieved in a series of four major steps for each homeland: This general framework
4692-450: The homelands—under continued white-minority rule and limited power-sharing arrangements with the segregated Coloured and Indian / Asian population groups, the independent and self-governing homelands as well as possible additional black entities in urban areas. From 1990 to 1994, these "confederational" ideas were in principle still entertained by large parts of the National Party (and in various forms also by certain parties and groups of
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#17328522023024784-480: The impossibility of a total removal of all blacks to the homelands even in the long run. It was hoping to "pacify" the black urban population by developing various plans to confer upon them limited rights at the local level (but not the upper levels of government). Furthermore, the urban (and rural) residential areas remained segregated based on race in accordance with the Group Areas Act . "Separate development" as
4876-489: The independence of their homelands: a majority was sceptical, remained cautious and avoided a definite decision, some outright rejected it due to their rejection of "separate development" and a professed commitment to "opposing apartheid from within the system", whilst others believed that nominal independence could serve to consolidate their power bases (to an even higher degree than the status they enjoyed as rulers of self-governing homelands) and presented an opportunity to build
4968-504: The international community from the time they were granted their independence by the UK in the 1960s. In the 1960s, South Africa , which was administering South West Africa under a League of Nations mandate , came under increased international pressure regarding its minority white rule over the majority black population. The solution envisaged by South Africa—the Odendaal Plan —was to separate
5060-483: The land in the country. In 1936 the government planned to raise this to 13.6 percent of the land, but it was slow to purchase land and this plan was not fully implemented. When the National Party came to power in 1948, Minister for Native Affairs (and later Prime Minister of South Africa ) Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd built on this, introducing a series of "grand apartheid" measures such as the Group Areas Acts and
5152-539: The last minute to participate in them after concessions had been made to them and as well as to the still-ruling National Party and several white opposition groups. In the period leading up to the elections in 1994, several leaders in the independent and self-governing homelands (e.g. in Boputhatswana ), who did not wish to relinquish their power, vehemently opposed the dismantling of the Bantustans and, in doing so, received support from white far-right parties, sections of
5244-564: The north and the Great Kei River in the south. The Indian Ocean and the Drakensberg mountain range, including parts of the landlocked kingdom of Lesotho , served as the eastern and western frontiers. A further two small sections occurred as landlocked isolates within South Africa. One of these was in the north-west, along the Orange River adjoining south-western Lesotho, and the other in
5336-444: The number at about 2.3 million, with approximately 400,000 citizens residing permanently outside the territory's borders. Fewer than 10,000 individuals were of European descent, and the urbanisation-rate for the entire population was around 5%. The Transkei Defence Force (TDF) was formed in October 1976 and numbered about 2,000, including one infantry battalion and an air wing with two light transporters and two helicopters. By 1993,
5428-553: The number of black citizens of South Africa. The process of creating the legal framework for this plan was completed by the Black Homelands Citizenship Act of 1970, which formally designated all black South Africans as citizens of the homelands, even if they lived in "white South Africa", and cancelled their South African citizenship, and the Bantu Homelands Constitution Act of 1971, which provided
5520-687: The number of troops had risen to 4,000. Initial training was provided by the South African Defence Force , and despite its diplomatic isolation, the government of Transkei received advice from and collaborated with Israeli counterinsurgency experts. Armscor/Krygkor was its main supplier of weaponry. After breaking all diplomatic ties with South Africa, President Matanzima announced construction-plans for an international airport by an unnamed French consortium in order for "arms and troops from other countries" to be brought into Transkei without touching South African soil, but did not elaborate on where those resources would originate. During its last days in 1994,
5612-470: The only country that acknowledged it as a legal entity. In 1994, it was reintegrated into its larger neighbour and became part of the Eastern Cape province. The South African government set up the area as one of the two homelands for Xhosa -speaking people in Cape Province , the other being Ciskei ; it was given nominal autonomy by Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd in 1963. Although the first election
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#17328522023025704-480: The opportunities for wealth and political power provided by the homelands. The dismantling of the homelands of Bophuthatswana and Ciskei was particularly difficult. In Ciskei, South African security forces had to intervene in March 1994 to defuse a political crisis. From 1994, most parts of the country were constitutionally redivided into new provinces . Nevertheless, many leaders of former Bantustans or Homelands have had
5796-507: The other independent Bantustans while South Africa showed its commitment to the notion of TBVC sovereignty by building embassies in the TBVC capitals. The Bantustans were generally poor, with few local employment opportunities. However, some opportunities did exist for advancement for blacks and some advances in education and infrastructure were made. The four Bantustans which attained nominal independence (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei) repealed all apartheid legislation. Laws in
5888-522: The peoples involved were Khoisan , not Bantu, and the Rehoboth Basters are a complex case. Of these ten South West African homelands, only three were granted self-government (comparable to the Bantustans in South Africa) between 1973 and 1976. In July 1980, the system was changed to one of separate governments ("representative authorities") as second-tier administrative units (responsible for
5980-478: The president in joint session with the National Assembly and its laws and legislative decisions were immune to judicial review. Seventy-five of its members were elected by popular vote from the various districts Transkei's territory was divided into. The remaining members were unelected Paramount Chiefs and ex officio chiefs whose number per district was enshrined in the constitution. With the establishment of
6072-455: The railway network and the tarred road infrastructure, all larger airports, the profitable diamond areas and the national parks were situated in the Police Zone. Beginning in 1968, following the 1964 recommendations of the commission headed by Fox Odendaal , ten homelands similar to those in South Africa were established in South West Africa (present-day Namibia ). The term "Bantustan" is somewhat inappropriate in this context, since some of
6164-465: The regulations thus created an almost homogeneous population of Xhosa ethnicity, though exceptions existed. The flag of Transkei is a triband . The colours are (from the top down) ochre red , white , and green . The Transkei consisted of three disconnected sections with a total area covering 45,000 km (17,000 sq mi). The large main section was bordered by the Umtamvuna River in
6256-425: The remainder being reserved for the white population. The homelands were run by cooperative tribal leaders, while uncooperative chiefs were forcibly deposed. Over time, a ruling black elite emerged with a personal and financial interest in the preservation of the homelands. While this aided the homelands' political stability to an extent, their position was still entirely dependent on South African support. The role of
6348-619: The representative authorities had responsibility for land tenure, agriculture, education up to primary level, teachers' training, health services, and social welfare and pensions and their Legislative Assemblies had the ability to pass legislation known as Ordinances. East Caprivi, like other homelands in South West Africa, was abolished in May 1989 at the start of the transition to independence . 17°46′10″S 24°12′49″E / 17.76944°S 24.21361°E / -17.76944; 24.21361 This Namibia location article
6440-459: The republic, the citizenry consisted of all those who had been holding the citizenship of the former territory of Transkei. Individuals were given no choice in this matter as the Transkeian constitution was a legally binding act; for the future, it provided citizenship regulations based on both jus sanguinis and jus soli . Citizenship by descent was given along the paternal line , regardless of
6532-406: The road ahead." My heritage commands me in the name of [Xhosa] nationhood to sacrifice the best of my abilities to the advancement of my own nation in its own country [...]. Kaiser Matanzima The General Assembly rejects the declaration of "independence" of the Transkei and declares it invalid. United Nations General Assembly A press release by the African National Congress at
6624-477: The so-called independent Transkei." An article published in Time Magazine opined that though Transkei declared independence theoretically as a "free Black state", Matanzima ruled as the dictator of a one-party state . He banned local opposition parties and bought farmlands for himself and his family offered by the South African government at subsidised prices. Matanzima published Independence my Way in 1976,
6716-449: The territory of the former homeland). The homelands are listed below with the ethnic group for which each homeland was designated. Four were nominally independent (the so-called TBVC states of the Transkei , Bophuthatswana , Venda and the Ciskei ). The other six had limited self-government: The first Bantustan was the Transkei, under the leadership of Chief Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima in
6808-541: The time rejected the Transkei's independence and condemned it as "designed to consolidate the inhuman policies of apartheid ". During its thirty-first session, in resolution A/RES/31/6 A, the General Assembly of the United Nations referred to Transkei's "sham independence" as "invalid," re-iterated its labelling of South Africa as a "racist régime," and called upon "all [g]overnments to deny any form of recognition to
6900-417: The time-frame of the institutional and legal development of the ten South African Bantustans in light of the above-mentioned four major steps: In parallel with the creation of the homelands, South Africa's black population was subjected to a massive programme of forced relocation. It has been estimated that 3.5 million people were forced from their homes from the 1960s through the 1980s, many being resettled in
6992-468: The two governments, and ordered that all South African Defence Force members seconded to the Transkei Defence Force should leave. This created the unique situation of a country refusing to deal with the only internationally recognised nation it was recognised by. Matanzima soon backed down in the face of Transkei's dependence on South African economic aid. During his rule, Matanzima arrested state officials and journalists at will; in late 1979, he detained
7084-541: The white and the non-white population, grant self-government to the isolated black territories, and thus make whites the majority population in the vast remainder of the country. Moreover, it was envisaged that, by separating each ethnic group and confining people by law to their restricted areas, discrimination by race would automatically disappear. The inspiration for the Odendaal Plan came, in part, from South African anthropologists. The demarcated territories were called
7176-429: The white liberal opposition), but their overtly race-based foundations gradually became less pronounced in the course of the negotiations to end apartheid, and the focus shifted to securing "minority rights" (having in mind primarily the white population in particular) after an expected handover of power to the black majority. Federalist plans also met with support from some homeland governments and parties, most importantly
7268-460: Was a former member of the ruling party, and due to its continued support of President Matanzima's policies, there is a widely held belief that it was actually initiated by Matanzima himself to give the impression of free elections when in fact there were none. Other parties that existed never gained any representation in parliament. According to the Constitution of Transkei, parliament consisted of
7360-500: Was a participant in the CODESA negotiations for a new South Africa. The territory was reincorporated into South Africa on 27 April 1994, and the area became part of the Eastern Cape province. The Transkei Penal Code, 1983 still applies between the Kei River and the border with KwaZulu-Natal , and persons who are charged with crimes in that area are prosecuted under the code. Nominally,
7452-441: Was also contemplated in circles of the ruling National Party to create additional nominally independent entities in the urban areas in the form of "independent" black "city-states". The long-term vision during this time was the creation of some form of a multi-racial "confederation of South African states" with a common citizenship, but separated into racially defined areas. Plans were made (of which only very few were realised) for
7544-564: Was contested and won by the Democratic Party , whose founder Chief Victor Poto was opposed to the notion of Bantustan independence, the government was formed by the Transkei National Independence Party . Of the 109 members in the regional parliament, 45 were elected and 64 were held by ex officio chiefs. The entity became a nominally independent state in 1976 with its capital at Umtata (now Mthatha ), although it
7636-900: Was granted a self-governing status in 1976. Unlike the other homelands in South West Africa, East Caprivi was administered through the Department of Bantu Administration and Development in Pretoria. Following the Turnhalle Constitutional Conference the system of Bantustans was replaced in 1980 by Representative Authorities which functioned on the basis of ethnicity only and were no longer based on geographically defined areas. Representative Authorities had executive and legislative competencies, being made up of elected Legislative Assemblies which would appoint Executive Committees led by chairmen. As second-tier authorities, forming an intermediate tier between central and local government,
7728-436: Was never recognised by anti-apartheid forces in South Africa or by any international government. Other Bantustans (like KwaZulu , Lebowa , and QwaQwa ) were assigned "autonomy" but never granted "independence". In South West Africa, Ovamboland , Kavangoland , and East Caprivi were declared to be self-governing, with a handful of other ostensible homelands never being given autonomy. A new constitution effectively abolished
7820-563: Was not achieved. Only a minority (about 39% in 1986 ) of South Africa's black population lived in the Bantustans; the remainder lived in South Africa proper, many in townships , shanty-towns and slums on the outskirts of South African cities. Bantustans within the borders of South Africa were classified as "self-governing" or "independent". In theory, self-governing Bantustans had control over many aspects of their internal functioning but were not yet sovereign nations. Independent Bantustans (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei; also known as
7912-409: Was not in each case followed in a clear-cut way, but often with a number of intermediate and overlapping steps. The homeland of Transkei served in many regards as a "testing ground" for apartheid policies; its institutional development started already before the 1959 act, and its attainment of self-government and independence were therefore implemented earlier than for the other homelands. This plan
8004-444: Was often quite arbitrary. Many individuals were assigned to homelands they did not originate from, and the designation of an individual as part of a particular ethnic group was often arbitrary, especially for individuals with mixed ancestry. Bantustan leaders were widely perceived as collaborators with the apartheid system, although some were successful in acquiring a following. Most homeland leaders had an ambivalent stance regarding
8096-499: Was permissible in court proceedings and for other administrative purposes. In addition, many thousands of northern Transkei residents spoke a small hybrid Nguni – Sotho language, called Phuthi . Conflicting data exist about the number of inhabitants. According to the South African Encyclopaedia, the total population of the Transkei increased from 2,487,000 to 3,005,000 between 1960 and 1970. An estimate of 1982 puts
8188-447: Was re-elected, gaining 100% of all open seats. On 20 February 1986, faced with South African evidence of corruption, Matanzima was forced to retire as president. He was succeeded by his brother George . Kaiser Matanzima was still described as Transkei's effective leader for a time, but soon the two fell out and Kaiser was temporarily detained in the Transkei gaols in 1987; upon release, he was restricted to Qamata . In 1987, Transkei,
8280-579: Was recognised only by South Africa and later by the other nominally independent republics within the TBVC -system. Chief Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima was Transkei's Prime Minister until 1979, when he assumed the office of President , a position he held until 1986. South African prime minister B. J. Vorster justified the declaration of Transkei as an independent republic by referring to "the right of every people to have full control over its own affairs" and wished "Transkei and its leaders God's richest blessings on
8372-437: Was stepped up under Verwoerd's successor as prime minister, John Vorster , as part of his "enlightened" approach to apartheid. However, the true intention of this policy was to fulfill Verwoerd's original plan to make South Africa's blacks nationals of the homelands rather than of South Africa—thus removing the few rights they still had as citizens. The homelands were encouraged to opt for independence, as this would greatly reduce
8464-455: Was submitted to and approved by both parties, or at any rate fairly widespread and influential sections of each. The Government's plans do not envisage the partitioning of this country into separate, self-governing States. They do not envisage equal rights, or any rights at all, for Africans outside the reserves. Partition has never been approved of by Africans and never will be. For that matter it has never been really submitted to or approved of by
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