Venda

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Flag of Venda 1979 to 1994
Location Vendas in South Africa

Venda was a homeland in South Africa . It was the ethnicity of Venda furnished. From 1979 to 1994 Venda was formally independent. The capital was Makwarela , today part of Thohoyandou (German: "head of the elephant"; the elephant is the totem animal of the presidential clan until 1990).

geography

Venda was an enclave within what was then the Transvaal province . It consisted of two areas that were located in the northeast of South Africa in the Lowveld . The much larger area was close to the border triangle with Zimbabwe and Mozambique . It did not border on these countries, but on South Africa or the homeland Gazankulu in the south and on two areas of the homeland Lebowa in the southwest. The smaller area of ​​Vendas was west of it, south of the Soutpansberg . The city of Louis Trichardt lies between the two areas . The total area of ​​Vendas was 6,875 km².

Of 520,000 Venda, 340,000 lived in the homeland in 1989. According to other information, 718,207 people lived there (as of 1990).

history

Territorial Authority

At the end of 1962, the South African government publicly announced that under the direction of the Ministry of Bantu Administration and Development, six “Territorial Authorities” had been established for regions of the Bantu population . For the area of ​​the later Homeland Venda, this was the Thoho Ya Ndou Territorial Authority with four regional administrative units (Regional Authority).

On June 1, 1971, the "Venda" area was prepared for future self -government status on the basis of the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (Act No. 46/1959) and the Bantu Homelands Constitution Act (Act No. 21/1971).

Self-governing status

With effect from February 1, 1973 Venda was transferred to the status of self-government. The first stage in the formation of the formal statehood of Venda was determined by Proclamation R12 of January 26, 1973 in the then Law Gazette of South Africa. Accordingly, the seat of the self-governing bodies was set to Sibasa and the official language Venda . The Legislative Assembly ( Legislative Assembly ) of the self-governing territory had 60 members, consisting of 25 Chiefs , 2 Headmen of community authorities, 15 designated by the Chiefs members and 18 people elected. The assembly elected a chief minister from among the chiefs to chair it . This appointed his cabinet, consisting of five members, three of whom had to be from the circle of chiefs. The first election took place in August 1973, from which Chief Patrick Mphephu ( National Party of Venda (NPV)) emerged as Chief Minister , previously the head ( Chief Councilor ) of a territorial administration and who bore the honorary title of Khosikhulu (German: " Oberhäuptling ") . In the elections, the opposition Venda Independence Party (VIP) won 13 of the possible 18 seats. Baldwin Mudau, a sociologist from Johannesburg, built it up. Chief Frank Ramovha acted as opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly .

Bantu State

On September 13, 1979, the South African Parliament passed the Status of Venda Act (Act No. 107/1979). With this law, the legal preparations for future Legislative Assembly (were Legislative Assembly ) created, which is to decide in the wake of Venda laws and a constitution. This law also defined how the citizenship of Venda is to be obtained and provided for the formation of a joint government commission between South Africa and Venda, which should implement the final declarations and regulations for the homeland's state independence.

With the Republic of Venda Constitution Act (Act No. 9/1979) of September 13, 1979, the South African government established the constitutional basis for Venda with the necessary structures. In this context, the Parliament of Venda, was National Assembly ( National Assembly ) called, which had to elect the president. This could appoint up to nine members of the government. The Legislative Assembly of Vendas consisted of 42 elected representatives and three representatives appointed by the head of state with "special knowledge and experience" as well as 42 tribal leaders (25 chiefs and 17 headmen).

Nine ministries formed the Executive Council . According to the constitution, these were the departments of Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Justice, Economy, Urban Development and Land Ownership, Education, Health and Social Affairs, Agriculture and Forestry, Transport, and Labor and Communication. Further public bodies could be formed, these were an office for national security and the national armed forces ( National Force ) with the president as formally supreme commander.

The judiciary was formed from a Chief Justice with an indefinite number of other Supreme Court judges ; all to be appointed by President Vendas. Judge GP van Rhyn of the Northern Cape Division of the South African Supreme Court assumed the role of Chief Justice of Venda . Appeals against decisions by the Venda Supreme Court had to be filed with the South African Supreme Court. The Proclamation R93 , published in the Government Gazette no. 2793 of 18 May 1979 and certain regulated the establishment of a further layer of courts, the High Court , with effect 1 July 1979.

In 1982 the University of Venda , or Univen for short , was founded in Thoyonandou . The NPV was the only party allowed from 1986 to 1990. Mphephu died on April 17, 1988 and was replaced by Frank Nndwakhulu Ravhele , who also belonged to the NPV and ruled until April 5, 1990. At that time, the government was temporarily ousted by a popular uprising and the NPV was banned. Ravheles successor was the military Gabriel Ramushwana, who served until January 25, 1994 and was then replaced by the military Tshamano Gerso Ramabulana.

Reintegration

On April 27, 1994, the homeland was reintegrated into South Africa and has been part of Limpopo Province ever since . Today Venda belongs to the Vhembe district .

Demographics

Besides the Venda, there were minorities in the homeland of Shangaan and a few in the south of North Sotho .

economy

The area around Thohoyandou is the growing area for subtropical fruits such as bananas as well as for tobacco, corn, coffee and tea. The gross domestic product in 1989 was 688.2 million rand . Venda issued numerous postage stamps.

literature

  • Ulrich van der Heyden : The Fighting Tradition of the Venda People. In Sechaba. Official Organ of the ANC, No. 1, London 1986, pp. 8-12.
  • Ulrich van der Heyden: The socio-economic development status and the tribal organization of the Venda in Transvaal (South Africa) on the eve of their colonial subjugation. In: Yearbook of the Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig, Vol. XXXVIII, Berlin 1989, pp. 248–268.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Muriel Horrell: The African Homelands of South Africa . SAIRR , Johannesburg 1973, p. 154
  2. ↑ a b c Information on Venda (English), accessed on March 17, 2010
  3. ^ SAIRR: A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1963 . Johannesburg 1964, pp. 107, 109
  4. ^ SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1971 . Johannesburg 1972. pp. 24-25
  5. ^ SAIRR: A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1973 . Johannesburg 1974. pp. 161-162
  6. ↑ The Fischer World Almanac 1988 . Fischer, Frankfurt 1987, ISBN 3-596-19088-6 , entry on Venda
  7. ^ SAIRR: Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1979 . Johannesburg 1980. pp. 328-329, 332-333
  8. ↑ The Fischer World Almanac 1988 . Fischer, Frankfurt 1987, ISBN 3-596-19088-6 , entry on Venda
  9. ↑ - Homeland Venda Philately Encyclopedia , accessed on March 17, 2010