KwaNdebele

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flag of KwaNdebeles
Location KwaNdebeles in South Africa

KwaNdebele (German: Heimat der Ndebele ) was a homeland in north-east South Africa in the center of the former Transvaal province . It was intended for the South Ndebele . The capital was initially Siyabuswa , from 1986 KwaMhlanga .

geography

KwaNdebele consisted of two areas which together were around 2,200 km². The much larger area was around 75 to 170 kilometers northeast of Johannesburg . The largest town in the area was Siyabuswa, which was in the northeast of the area. In the northwest, the area bordered a small area of ​​the formally independent Bophuthatswana . The area in the densely populated north was below 1,000 meters above sea level, in the southeast it rose to 1,690 meters.

The second area of ​​KwaNdebeles lay east of the first area. In the north it bordered the largest area of ​​the Lebowa homeland .

KwaNdebele was almost exclusively inhabited by South Ndebele. Of the 440,000 South African Ndebele, 145,000 lived in the homeland in 1989. According to other information, KwaNdebele had 373,012 inhabitants (as of 1992).

history

As early as 1972, some tribal representatives negotiated limited independence with South Africa. Since 1974 South Africa has been buying up land for such a Bantustan in the vicinity of Weltevreden . On October 7, 1977, the Ndebele Territorial Authority was established. The first Chief Executive Councilor (German: "Supreme Executive Councilor") was Simon Somkhahlekwa Skosana, who did not belong to any party.

KwaNdebele was founded in 1979. On April 1, 1981, it received formal rights of self-government. the legislative assembly consisted of 56 appointed traditional heads and 16 elected members, women were not represented. Skosana became the first Chief Minister ("Supreme Minister") of KwaNdebele. Elections were held in 1983. Forced evictions in surrounding areas led to an increase in the population in KwaNbedele. In May 1986 there was a student-led revolt against independence and the ruling Imbokodo party. More than 200 people were killed by July 1986. In a parliamentary vote in August 1986, independence on the terms offered by South Africa was rejected. In November 1986, Klaas Mtshweni replaced the late Skosana. A few days later, Prince George Majozi Mahlangu took office.

Although the entire opposition was in jail at the time, Pretoria had to put its independence plans on hold. Originally, it was planned to release KwaNdebele to formal independence on December 7, 1984 as the fifth homeland after the Transkei , Bophuthatswana , Venda and the Ciskei , but this date was repeatedly postponed. The last officially named date for a declaration of independence was December 4, 1986, but that date also passed. In 1988 women won the right to vote in the Pretoria Supreme Court . From March 29, 1988, the Moutse district, which had come to KwaNdebele in 1986, was administered by South Africa.

Mahlungu was in office until February 3, 1989 and was then replaced by Prince Jonas Masana Mabena, who held the office until April 30, 1990. The last Chief Minister KwaNdebeles was the previously imprisoned Prince James Senzangakhona Mahlangu, who belonged to the Intando Yesizwe Party (IYP), which had received about 80,000 out of 87,000 votes in the 1988 election. The South African government had to work with him.

On April 27, 1994, KwaNdebele was reunited with South Africa along with the nine other homelands. Today it is part of the Mpumalanga Province .

Demographics

Most of the people living in KwaNdebele were South Ndebele, along with around 88,000 Zulu , 20,000 North Sotho and 10,000 Swazi .

economy

Many residents of KwaNdebeles worked as commuters or migrant workers in the industrial area around Johannesburg and Pretoria . The commuters had to accept several hours of bus travel per route every day. Agriculture was practiced on a small scale. The gross domestic product in 1986 was 509.5 million rand . 58% of the income was earned outside of KwaNdebele.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Information on KwaNedbele (English), accessed on March 18, 2010
  2. amaNdebele , ed. House of World Cultures Berlin, Tübingen: Wasmuth Verlag 1991, p. 22
  3. a b c Der Fischer Weltalmanach 1988 . Fischer, Frankfurt 1987, ISBN 3-596-19088-6 , entry on KwaNdebele (with slightly different figures)
  4. amaNdebele 1991, p. 23
  5. ^ Everyday life in apartheid . Pahl-Rugenstein, Cologne 1987, ISBN 3-7609-1066-1 , p. 24