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109-655: Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people . It was located in both the Northern Transvaal , now Limpopo province and Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga province. Gazankulu received self-rule from the central government in 1969, with its capital at Giyani . Gazankulu homeland officially starts at Elim Hospital, near Makhado , from Elim it then heads east towards

218-481: 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 a part of its policy of apartheid . The term, first used in the late 1940s, was coined from Bantu (meaning "people" in some of

327-437: A Northern Sotho word 'Tsaaneng', which refers to a small basket called 'Tsana'. Tsana was made of bamboo grass called Lehlaka. Due to the fertile riverbank, the area was known to produce high-quality bamboo grass used to make different types of utensils. Tsana was a popular utensil made in the area, which attracted customers from different areas. Later the area would be known as DiTsaneng (a place where Tsaanas are made).The name

436-672: 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

545-714: A 30 km (19 mi) radius, with the town itself holding a population of 14,571, according to the 2011 census. The town of Tzaneen is composed predominantly of Afrikaans-language whites and a mix of Tsonga and Balobedu and Bapedi . In the extended area around the town, there are approximately 225,000 people from the Northern Sotho ethnic nation of Balobedu ba ga Modjadji. Bapedi tribe such as BaNareng ba ga sekororo, Batlou ba ga makgoba, Bathlabine ba ga mogoboya, BaKgaga ba maake, Bakgaga ba maupa and Babirwa ba ga Raphahlelo, phooko and Bakoni ba Mametja and Bakhutama ba GA Modiba . There are approximately 220,000 Tsonga from

654-409: A detached area of Gazankulu". For more than 18-years, Professor Ntsanwisi successfully resisted the forced removal of the people of Valdezia, to this day, the community of Valdezia still enjoy their land rights, which would not be possible today should the central government had gone ahead with forced removal. Ribolla community of Mbhokota, Chavani, Bokisi, Riverplaats and some parts of Nwaxinyamani. As

763-426: A dumping ground for all communities that were removed from their land by the apartheid government and dumped on his land. The village of Ribungwani and Masakona have taken land that previously fell under hosi Mahatlani's jurisdiction. In 1960, hosi Mahatlani was de-recognised by the apartheid government and handed over to Hosi Bungeni as his Induna. Today, hosi Mahatlani is considered a rebel at Bungeni village because he

872-404: 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

981-486: A handful of other ostensible homelands never being given autonomy. A new constitution effectively abolished 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

1090-496: 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

1199-442: 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

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1308-551: 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

1417-530: 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

1526-649: A series of "grand apartheid" measures such as the Group Areas Acts and 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

1635-399: 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

1744-484: 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,

1853-488: 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

1962-500: A very small village called ka-Mtsetweni 3 km south of Levubu Agricultural plantation . Before he was de-recognized by the government in 1960, he had the same status as Hosi Bungeni, also in terms of land mass. After the 1994 democratic elections, the new government is still trying to solve this problem through its Katla commission. Hosi Bokisi Another important chief in the Elim area had his chieftainship interfered with, his land

2071-460: A village known today as Bungeni new stands. Headman Skhunyani, along with headman Nwaxinyamani, are the original headmen of Hosi Bungeni and fell under the jurisdiction of Hosi Bungeni from the time they took up the land some centuries ago. Consequently, Skhunyani, known today as Skhosana, is the original land of Hosi Bungeni. Gazankulu, as a political entity, no longer exists, it is today part of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. In 1994, Gazankulu

2180-480: Is home to South Africa's second largest indigenous forest after Tsitsikamma forest in the southern Cape. Weather can change very fast from clear skies to being misty, with the highest reaches enveloped in clouds. Hence the name of the range, meaning "Cloud Mountain" in Afrikaans. The Wolkberg is rugged, with rocky shoulders and deep humid gorges. There are rare plant and animal species in these areas. Species such as

2289-573: Is located just outside Tzaneen where it cares for over 600 vervet monkeys . Mostly sunshine, long summer days with pleasant winters. Tzaneen's subtropical conditions provide more suited weather for dense forests (high summer rainfall) than the thorny bushveld above the escarpment and further to the east. The summer months, September – March, have an average temperature of 28 °C (82 °F) and winter months around 15 °C (59 °F). Rainfall averages from around 800 mm (31 in) per year in town to over 1,500 mm (59 in) per year in

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2398-518: Is refusing to participate in the Bungeni tribal authority as an induna. Just like hosi Mtsetweni, his chieftainship is currently being investigated by the kgatla commission. Hosi Skhunyani The land on the hill east of Nwanancila river known today as Skhosana village (under headman Nwaxinyamani) up until the eastern side of Rivolwa mountain and the village of Bodwe is the land of Headman Skhunyani and his people. They were expelled in 1960 and dumped at

2507-538: Is today a living Tsonga monument within the Elim Shirley community. Valdezia community, the only remaining Tsonga community in the heart of the Levubu river, was also threatened with forced removal during the 1960s, the central government has already finalised the removal of the entire community to an unknown location. With regards to Valdezia, Professor Ntsanwisi has issued a warning and declaration of war against

2616-526: 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

2725-523: 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 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

2834-875: 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

2943-580: 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

3052-605: 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

3161-625: The Levubu river valley, the villages of Valdezia and Bungeni being the two largest Tsonga settlements in the Levubu river valley, with a combined population of more than 50 000 people, according to the mid-2015 population statistics and stretched down up to the banks of the Sabie River near Skukuza in Hazyview in Mpumalanga . Total length of Gazankulu, from Elim Hospital to Hazyview,

3270-695: 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

3379-551: 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

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3488-491: 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

3597-518: The world's 40th largest tomato producer . Even though South Africa is ranked 40th in terms of tomato production, the ZZ2 farms are the world's biggest producer of tomatoes. Tzaneen is also the biggest producer of pine plantations in the Limpopo Province, accounting for more than 85% of Limpopo's pine and bluegum production . The majority of Tzaneen's tropical indigenous forest were cleared for

3706-660: The 1960s, Professor H.W.E Ntsanwisi fought unsuccessfully against the central government's unilateral land demarcations, which resulted in 3 large Tsonga exclaves. Despite Professor H.W.E Ntsanwisi's protests at unilateral land demarcations, the central government went ahead to create 3 large Tsonga exclaves, which the Tsonga people opposed unconditionally throughout the 1960s, 1970's and 1980's. Gazankulu shared borders with other black homelands, which were, Venda , Lebowa and Kangwane . These 3 other black homelands, like Gazankulu, also experienced land grabs and unfair land allocations from

3815-451: The 1960s, many Vatsonga chiefs lost their status as senior chiefs and have their lands greatly reduced when homelands were created and political boundaries demarcated. One of the most important chief in the Elim area to have his land and chieftainship taken away was Hosi Mtsetweni, a fully fledged senior chief with a vast land. After he was de-recognized by the government, he was given to Hosi Bungeni as his headman, his land greatly reduced into

3924-508: The 2011 census, is spread out as follows; Limpopo 1.1 million or 17% of the province, Mpumalanga 500,000 or 11.5% of the province and Gauteng 800,000 or 4% of the province. With the total population in 2011 being 2.3 million or 5% of South Africa's total population. Districts of the homeland and population in the 1991 census. 23°18′36″S 30°42′23″E  /  23.3100°S 30.7064°E  / -23.3100; 30.7064 Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as

4033-454: 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

4142-434: 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

4251-749: 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

4360-448: The Elim area. Professor H.W.E Ntsanwisi successfully claimed back the "Tsonga finger" after the central government failed to forcibly removed the Tsonga people. However, after the central government's failure to remove all the Tsonga people from the "Tsonga finger", they did manage to remove one Tsonga chief from his land, Hosi Bokisi in 1968. In 2016, a descendant of the late chief Bokisi managed to get back all his grandfather's land that

4469-682: The European settlers. European settlers built the modern-day town using the name Tzaneen, and the name remains to this day. Tzaneen is Limpopo's paradise and it has been nicknamed 'Land of Silver Mist' because of the frequent mist that occur on the mountains above it. It is located in lush, tropical surroundings and is home to Limpopo's highest mountain, the Iron Crown Mountain, lying more than 2,200 m (7,200 ft) above sea level. The Iron Crown mountain, also known by its Afrikaans name Wolkberg , supports Limpopo's biodiversity and

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4578-506: The Greater Giyani and Greater Letaba local Municipalities in 1994, while Makhado local municipality was the biggest beneficiary of the former Hlanganani district, it took more than 130 000 people from the former Hlanganani in 1994 when the district was broken-up. The Greater Giyani Local Municipality was merged with some parts of Bolobedu (Northern Sotho speaking), Malamulele was merged with Thulamela Local Municipality and Lulekani

4687-654: The Homeland of Gazankulu were concentrated in these two towns, which were also Industrial Zones in the former Transvaal Province . The land of the Tsonga people proper starts from Elim Hospital near Makhado / Louis Trichardt and ends in Skukuza near Hazyview in Mpumalanga Province. From the year 1899 until the 1960s, the land was cut off into small pieces by the Colonial Government until

4796-462: The Makhado area. However, his paramountancy as chief of all Vatsonga in the Makhado area was highly contested by João Albasini , who declared himself chief of all Vatsonga people in the Makhado area. The paramount chieftainship was lost in 1930 upon the death of Hosinkulu Njhakanjhaka at waterval Shirley farm, after the death of the great Njhakanjhaka, the whole village of Elim was run and managed by

4905-600: 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

5014-569: 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

5123-754: 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

5232-773: The Nkuna Clan. Gazankulu had 9 district hospitals, which are; Elim Hospital in Elim, Nkhensani Hospital in Giyani, eVuxakeni Psychiatrist Hospital in Giyani, Malamulele Hospital in Malamulele, Letaba Hospital in Tzaneen, Shiluvane hospital in Tzaneen, Tintswalo Hospital in Bushbuckridge, Masana hospital in Bushbuckridge and Matikwana Hospital in Hazyview . In addition, these district hospitals are attached to more than 150 Community Health Centres and clinics. Masana Hospital

5341-554: The South African Bantustans were independent— Transkei , Bophuthatswana , Venda , and Ciskei (the so-called "TBVC States"), but this declaration 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

5450-488: 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

5559-600: The Swiss Mission Church, known today as Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Africa (EPCSA). The Swiss missionaries at Elim were responsible for the disappearance of Njhakanjhaka paramount chieftainship since they are the ones that decided that Elim, as a 'Capital' site of the Swiss Mission Church in South Africa, should be run and managed by the Church, as a result, no new chief of the Njhakanjhaka clan

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5668-566: 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

5777-406: The Tsonga land was reduced to four territories. The cutting off of Tsonga land was in line with the 1913 Land Act, where 13% of South African land was allocated to Homelands. Under the leadership of Professor H.W.E Ntsanwisi, Gazankulu has successfully resisted forced removal of Tsonga people in the following areas during the 1960s, Elim Shirley community, the central government has already finalised

5886-402: The Tzaneen area, notably mangoes, bananas, oranges, tomatoes and avocados. Pine and eucalyptus plantations are also a common sight in the area around the town, particularly toward Modjadjiskloof, Magoebaskloof and Haenertsburg. The plantations serve a number of sawmills located in the area. Tzaneen branch is charged with the responsibility of effecting quality education and training for all. It

5995-498: The United States. The Natives Land Act, 1913 , limited blacks to seven percent of 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

6104-484: 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

6213-876: The Wolkberg Zulu ( Alaena margaritacea ), the Wolkberg widow ( Dingana clara ) and the Wolkberg sandman ( Spialia secessus ), have been named after these mountains. The Wolkberg area is one of only two areas in the world where the critically endangered butterfly, Lepidochrysops lotana , are found. The Iron Crown Mountain is a protected area in terms of South African law. The Groot Letaba River , Middle Letaba River and Klein Letaba River all rise up in these mountains. Tzaneen produces about 40% of South Africa's avocados , 40% of South Africa's mangoes and 20% of South Africa's bananas . Tzaneen also produces 90% of South Africa's tomatoes , making South Africa

6322-601: 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

6431-483: 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". Tzaneen About 475,000 people reside within

6540-404: The beautiful Tzaneen Dam , Magoebaskloof , Haenertsburg and Wolkberg mountains. The town is also situated close to a number of game reserves and the town often serves as a thoroughfare for tourists on their way to other tourist destinations in the province. The well-known Kruger National Park , for instance, is situated approximately 100 km (62 mi) away. The Vervet Monkey Foundation

6649-405: The central government, he told Pretoria during the 1970s that "there will be bloodshed if the central government goes ahead and forcibly remove the people of Valdezia", the threat to forcibly remove the people of Valdezia went on until 1984 when the South African government announced that "Valdezia will no longer be removed as originally planned by the central government, rather it will be retained as

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6758-769: The central government. Gazankulu had 10 formal townships, which were all created and built by the Apartheid Government from the late 1960s until the late 1980s, they are; Waterval in Elim, Giyani in Giyani, Malamulele in Malamulele, Nkowankowa in Tzaneen , Lulekani in Phalaborwa , Acornhoek in Bushbuckridge , Thulamahashe in Bushbuckridge, Dwarsloop in Bushbuckridge and Mkhuhlu in Hazyview . The above townships were curved out of land owned by local Traditional leaders or tribal chiefs. In Waterval,

6867-473: 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

6976-424: 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

7085-406: The entire Bungeni community against the central government's intention to forcibly remove them from the entire Levubu valley. To this day, the Bungeni community still enjoy their land rights, a right that would not have been possible if they were removed. The Bungeni community is still waiting for the transfer of the eastern part of Nwaxinyamani village back into its tribal authority, the piece of land

7194-465: The ethnic groups of Shiluvane -Nkuna and Hosi Muhlaba-Shiluvane (132,000 people), and Valoyi under Hosi Nwamitwa-Valoyi (91,000 people). The White population consists mainly of the Afrikaner people and a minority of English , Portuguese , Scottish , Irish , Jewish and German . The distance from Tzaneen to Johannesburg is approximately 420 km (260 mi). Tzaneen's name is derived from

7303-632: 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

7412-483: 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

7521-450: 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

7630-487: 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

7739-489: 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

7848-514: 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

7957-948: The land traditionally belong to Hosi Njhakanjhaka of the Mukhari-Xilumani clan, in Giyani, the land belong to Hosi Risinga of the Chabalala clan, in Nkowankowa, the land belong to Hosi Muhlava II of the Nkuna clan, in Lulekani, the land belong to Hosi Majeje(M.Ntsan'wisi) of the Maluleke clan, in Thulamahashe, the land belong to Hosi Nxumalo of the Ndwandwe-Zwide clan and in Mkhuhlu, the land belong to Hosi Hoxani of

8066-546: 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

8175-423: The main sports in Tzaneen. Soccer is widely played in rural areas and townships. Mountain hiking became popular teams like Tzaneen Hiking Club, Mount Sibu hiking and Bokgaga hiking Club. Tourism is also an important part of the Tzaneen economy, along with agribusiness . Tzaneen offers great country and town accommodation for visitors. There are many tourist attractions around the small town of Tzaneen, including

8284-404: The name suggests, these communities are found on the western, southern and eastern parts of Mount Ribola, a prominent landmark mountain around Elim. Forced removals were a reality in this part of Gazankulu. These lands were collectively known as the "Tsonga finger" by the apartheid government and the Tsonga people were to be removed in their great numbers, this is a proud home of the Tsonga people in

8393-579: 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

8502-484: 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

8611-507: 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

8720-536: 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

8829-408: The plan to forcibly remove the Tsonga from Elim Shirley farms and to dump them at an arid place in around Malamulele. Professor Ntsanwisi successfully challenged the government of the day against the forced removal of the Elim Shirley community, to this day, the Tsonga people at Elim Shirley still enjoy their land rights. Elim Hospital, which was also scheduled to be removed into a village in Malamulele,

8938-584: The production of pine , bluegum, banana, avocado and other agricultural plantations. The economy of Tzaneen depends largely on farming fruits, vegetables, animals and timber. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Tzaneen, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured its development. Water is supplied from several dams in the area, including Tzaneen Dam, Merensky Dam and Magoebaskloof Dam, although water boreholes are also common in Tzaneen, for watering crops and performing household chores. A wide range of fruit are grown in

9047-644: 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 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

9156-522: 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

9265-425: 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

9374-420: The rolling hills southeast of Elim known to the apartheid government as "Bellevue". Hosi Malele was an independent senior chief with a big land like hosi Bokisi. Today, he is trying to reassert his autonomy by refusing to participate in the Bungeni tribal authority since originally he never reported nor fell under Hosi Bungeni. Hosi Mahatlani Sibisi Just like hosi Malele of Wayeni, hosi Mahatlani's land became

9483-745: The senior house namely Modika, Mahasha and Mohale. The descendants of the three brothers are the original royal families of the Balobedu nation and are an integral part of the Modjadji Royal family. To date the descendants of the Modika clan are referred to as batsanakolo or motsanakolo. Balobedu are the first to occupy the area using the great or and klein Letaba Rivers as a border of the Balobedu Land until they were forcefully removed by

9592-419: The status of Njhakanjhaka as a paramount chief was not restored, he was only recognised as a senior chief. However, during the 1960s, the apartheid government gave some form of recognition to the Njhakanjhaka chieftainship, the incumbent was given a status of an independent headman without a chief, but a tribal office was not granted until 1995. The land of Hosinkulu Njhakanjhaka was greatly reduced in size, only

9701-509: 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

9810-417: 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

9919-405: The villages of Elim, Lemana, Shirley, Waterval , Magangeni, eka-Mabobo and Njhakanjhaka were left for him to exercise his authority. Hosi Malele The fate that befell hosi Malele and his Wayeni community during the 1960s was rather regrettable. His land was reduced into a small village and his seniority taken away, he was given to Hosi Bungeni as his headman. Malele' land was big and he occupied

10028-548: 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

10137-429: 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

10246-505: Was 317 km long, which is a distance equivalent of travelling from Pretoria to Harrismith. The homeland consisted of the 'Mainland Gazankulu' which were Elim, Giyani and Malamulele, with 3 large exclaves , which were Bushbuckridge , Tzaneen and Phalaborwa . Before the 1913 Land Act, Bushbuckridge, Phalaborwa and Tzaneen were not Tsonga exclaves, they were physically connected with other Tsongas of Elim, Giyani and Malamulele. The 1913 Land Act resulted in 3 large Tsonga exclaves, during

10355-441: 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

10464-481: Was appointed after 1930. The Swiss Mission Church in South Africa was later, during the 1960s, to play a positive role and to the benefit of the Njhakanjhaka chieftainship since they actively opposed the forced removal of the Elim Shirley Community. Between 1930 up until 1995, the Njhakanjhaka chieftainship disappeared from the scene, it was only restored in 1995 by President Nelson Mandela . However,

10573-405: Was during this time that the branch had to shape up its direction and coordinate all professional developments and support. Policies, systems, and procedures had to be developed. This was not easily achievable due to a lack of personnel to effect change. Tzaneen still remains as one of the areas in South Africa with a high rate of tertiary graduates but a low employment rate. Soccer and rugby are

10682-607: Was later bastardised by European colonial settlers into Tzaneen. The area bordering the Great Letaba River was named Tsanakolo(meaning the place of the big reed) and occupied by the Prince of Balobedu kingdom named Modika, who was the eldest son of the first male ruler and founder of the Bolobedu kingdom named Makgaphele or Phetole. Makgaphele was the son of Princess Dzungudini. It is said Makgapele had three known sons from

10791-1302: Was later, in 1976, given to Mapulana people, a close neighbour of Tsonga people in Bushbuckridge and is known today as Mapulaneng Hospital. Elim Hospital in Waterval , Masana Hospital in Bushbuckridge and Shiluvane Hospital in Tzaneen were Swiss Mission Hospitals, having established by the Swiss Missionaries who brought Gospel to the Tsonga people. Gazankulu had 16 modern shopping centres, which are; Bindzulani in Nkowankowa; Elim Mall in Elim, Hubyeni Shopping Centre in Elim, Giyani Regional Mall, Masingita shopping complex (Giyani), Masingita Mall (Giyani), Masingita Plaza (Giyani), Malamulele Crossing (Malamulele), Mangalani Shopping complex (Malamulele), Acornhoek Plaza (Bushbuckridge), Acornhoek Mall (Bushbuckridge), Thulamahashe Plaza (Bushbuckridge), Thula Mall in Thulamahashe (Bushbuckridge), Dwarsloop Mall (Bushbuckridge), Twin City Bushbuckridge (Bushbuckridge) and Mkhuhlu Plaza (Hazyview). There were two major Industrial Zones in Gazankulu, which were Letaba in Tzaneen and Mkhuhlu in Hazyview . All Investments in

10900-535: Was merged with Namakgale to form a new Municipality with Phalaborwa known as Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality . Shiluvane , under Hosi Muhlaba and other Tsonga areas in Ritavi has been merged to form Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality . In Bushbuckridge , the whole area has been merged with Northern Sotho and the Swazi to form Bushbuckridge Local Municipality . The population of the former Gazankulu, according to

11009-563: 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

11118-409: 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

11227-444: 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

11336-519: Was reduced into a small village on a mountain slope just east of Elim. He was given to Hosi Chavani as his headman. Hosi Bokisi, just like Hosi Mtsetweni, is a fully fledged senior chief of the Bokisi community but was reduced to a status of a headman, his land greatly reduced to few hundred hectares Hosi Njhakanjhaka This is a paramount chief of all Vatsonga in the whole Makhado area, his jurisdiction covers almost all areas where Tsonga people live in

11445-437: 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

11554-548: Was stolen during the 1960s when demarcation was done between Nkhensani tribal authority (people of Chavani village) and Bungeni tribal authority (people of Bungeni). The piece of land that must transferred back to Bungeni is known as Skhosana village, which is today part of nwaxinyamani, during the 1960s, that land belonged to Hosi Makhoma Skhunyani, and if everything goes according to plan, Bungeni new stands, under Hosi Makhoma Skhunyani, will be joined with Skhosana village and form part of Hosi Makhoma's land. Hosi Mtsetweni During

11663-524: Was sub-divided into different municipalities cross-cutting linguistic and cultural boundaries, a feature of a new democratic South Africa. The western district of former Hlanganani was allocated to Makhado Local Municipality (130 000 people), the southern part of Hlanganani was divided and allocated to Greater Letaba Local Municipality (5 000 people), while the eastern part of Hlanganani was allocated to Greater Giyani Local Municipality (35 000 people). In total, Hlanganani district lost 40 000 people to both

11772-455: 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

11881-476: Was taken, the old Bokisi has been claimed back and chief Bokisi has demarcated residential stands, next to chavani village, alongside the Elim road. Bungeni community, the largest Tsonga settlement in the Levubu river valley and the most populous Tsonga settlement in the whole Elim area, was, alongside its neighbour, Valdezia community, to be removed from the entire area completely and relocated into unknown location. Professor Ntsanwisi successfully claimed back

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