THE FINAL RESETTLEMENT OF THE BAKWENA BA GA MOLOPYANE AT TSETSE-- ,
BY
DAVIS YUMBA
MINI-THESIS
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
DEGREE
MASTER OF ARTS
IN
HISTORY
IN THE
FACULTY OF ARTS
AT THE
RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY
SUPERVISOR : PROF G. VERHOEF
MAY 1997 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A big thank you to the following people and institutions who made it possible for me to compile and write this mini-thesis; Professor G. Verhoef my supervisof4 for her wonderful.guidance, officials of the Rand Afrikaans University Library. officials of the State Archives in Pretoria, and officials of the Office of - Traditional Affairs in the North West Province Government.
Special thanks to the former Acting Chief of the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, Mr Melea Malefo and the tribesmen, Mpho Tire of Agricor-Statistical Data Centre, Mr Rasweswe, Mr Monoketsi, the Animal Health Officer of the Ramatlabama Area, David "Disha" Morupisi and Peter Tlome who accompanied me when visiting Potchefstroom, Ventersdorp and Mafikeng. SUMMARY
The problem on which the study focuses is how the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane were affected by resettlement. It also. focuses on the reasons for the removal of the Bakwena from Uitkyk in 1931 and Doornkop in 1978;: . Attention is paid to the economic position of the tribe at the two farms. The study concentrates on the question of compensatory land, negative effects on the ability of the tribe as farmers, lack of employment opportunities, loss of livelihood and the state of despondency as a result of resettlement.
Intensive primary research was conducted. Interviews were conducted in Tsetse in May 1995. The same number and type of prepared questions which required short and long answers were to be answered by the interviewees. A commercial white farmer in Ventersdorp as well as the chairperson of the Ventersdorp district agricultural union were also interviewed about the economic activities of the tribe in 1996.
Secondary research was conducted by going through published secondary sources in the Rand Afrikaans University library and the Human Science Research Council library in Pretoria.
The State Archives in Pretoria were visited to conduct primary archival research. The official documents consulted were those of the Department of Bantu Administration and Native Affairs Department. Matters concerning the buying and selling of land by blacks were handled by these departments.
The State Ethnologist was visited to establish the link between the information gathered and the movement of the tribe. The Deeds Office in Pretoria was visited to consult registers regarding the transfer of land between the tribe and interested parties. There was a need to establish how, by whom and in whose name the land was owned. iii
The North West Provincial Government was visited to confirm information $61 • the movement of the tribe, from Doornkop to Tsetse and com -pensation for land they relinquished at Doornkop. Primary research documents were consulted in the Office of Traditional Affairs. The Deeds Office in Mmabatho was also visited to establish in whose name the farms, Fairview and Ramatlabarnal portion 27, were registered.
The study has established that by October 1996 compensatory land, the farm Fairview and portion 27 of Ramatlabama, had not been transferred and registered in the name of the tribe. Secondly, private owners who had been promised portion 1 of Fairview in exchange of portion 1(c) No. 186 of the farm Doornkop and portion 5 (of 3) of the farm Doornkop in the Ventersdorp district had also not been compensated.
One of the results of resettlement was that the tribe was resettled in a dry area with insufficient rain. . The soil in Tsetse is also not good for crop production. As a result the tribe's ability to farm has been negatively affected. It has also been established that the tribe has been resettled in an area which lacks employment opportunities. The tribe itself could not create employment opportunities as there were no enterprising farmers left among them due to insufficient rain and the poor condition of the soil.
Business is not good as the majority of the people are poor. Statistics supplied by the Development Bank of Southern Africa indicate that in 1990 most of the people in Bophuthatswana were economically inactive due to lack of employment opportunities. Consequently, the tribe's means of making a living have diminished. One of the most important results obtained is that resettlement has made the tribe to lose hope in life and in their ability to be creative. Resettlement has made the people to live in despair and poverty. iv-
SAM EVATTING
Die studie kyk na die vraagstuk van hoe die Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane geraak is deur hervestiging. Dit Ie ook kiem op die redes: vir die verwydering van die" Bakwena van Uitkyk in 1931 en van Doornkop in 1978. Aandag word gesken1. aan die ekonomiese posisie van die stam op die twee plase. Verder konsentreer die studie op die kwessie van kompensasie grondgebied, die negatiewe uitwerking op die vermoe van die stam om lewensvatbare Iandbou te beoefen, 'n tekort aan werksgeleenthede, die verlies aan 'n vaste inkomste en `n totale staat van moedeloosheid as gevolg van hervestiging.
Intensiewe primere navorsing is gedoen. In Mei 1995 is onderhoude in Tsetse gevoer. In die onderhoude is dieselfde hoeveelheid en dieselfde soorte voorbereide vrae gestel waarop beide lang en kort antwoorde is vereis. In 1996 is onderhoude gevoer met 'n blanke kommersiele plaasboer van Ventersdorp asook met die voorsitter van die dorp se landbou-unie aangaande die ekonomiese aktiwiteite van die stam.
Sekondere navorsing is gedoen deur 'n studie te maak van gepubliseerde sekondere bronne van die Randse Afrikaanse Universiteitsbiblioteek asook die biblioteek van die Raad vir Geesteswetenskaplike Navorsing in Pretoria.
'n Besoek is ook afgele aan die Staatsargief in Pretoria om primere argivale navorsing te doen. Amptelike dokumente van die Departement Bantoe Administrasie asook Naturelle-aangeleenthede is geraadpleeg - sake aangaande die koop en verkoop van grond deur swartes is deur die betrokke departemente hanteer.
Die Staatsetnoloog is besoek om vas te stel wat die korrelasie was tussen informasie verkry en die stam se beweging. Registers van die Aktekantoor in Pretoria is ook geraadpleeg aangaande die oordrag van grond tussen die stam en ander belanghebbendes. 'n Behoefte het ontstaari om vas te stel hoe grond verkry is, deur wie en in wie se naam grond geregistreer is. Hierdie inligting is in die Aktekantoor verkry.
Die Noordwes Provinsiale regering is besoek om data te bevestig aangaande die beweging van die stam vanaf Doornkop na Tsetse en kompensasie vir grond wat hulle prysgegee het te Doornkop. Primere navorsingsdokumente is geraadpleeg in die Kantoor vir Tradisionele Aangeleenthede. Die Aktekantoor in Mmabatho is ook besoek om vas te stel in wie se naam die plase Fairview en Ramatlabama, deel 27, geregistreer is.
Die studie het vasgestel dat teen Oktober 1996, die plaas Fairview en deel 27 van Ramatlabama wat as kompensasie toegeken is, nie oorgedra en geregistreer is in die naam van die stam nie; tweedens, dat private eienaars aan wie deel 4 van Fairwiew in ruil vir deel 1(c) nr. 186 van die plaas Doornkop en deel 5 (van 3) van die plaas Doornkop in die Ventersdorpdistrik belowe is, ook nie gekompenseer is nie. :
Een van die gevolge van hervestiging is dat die stam horn nou bevind in 'n droe gebied met 'n Iae reenvalsyfer. Die grond in Tsetse is ook nie geskik vir landbouproduksie nie. Gevolglik het dit 'n negatiewe uitwerking op die stam se vermoe om Iewensvatbare Iandbou te beoefen. Daar is ook bevind dat die stam hervestig is in 'n strook wat bitter min werksgeleenthede bled. Onvoldoende reen en swak landbougrond dra derhaiwe daartoe by dat Been ondernemende boere onder die stam oor is nie. Die stam is dus nie daartoe in staat om werksgeleenthede op eie houtjie te skep nie. Die gemiddelde armoede van die mense in die gebied dra ook nie by tot florerende ekonomiese bedrywighede nie. Statistiek van die Ontwikkelingsbank van Suider Afrika toon dat die meeste mense in Bophuthatswana in 1990 ekonomies onaktief was weens die tekort aan werksgeleenthede. Gevolglik is die stam se middele om `n bestaan te maak onder druk geplaas. Een van die belangrikste waarnemings is die stam se moedeloosheid met hul lewe oor die algemeen en met hul vi
kreatiwiteitsvermoens in die besonder. Hervestigkng daartoe bygedra dat die mense in wanhoop en armoede lewe. vu
CONTENTS
PAGE
ACKNOWLEDGMENT SUMMARY ii SAMEVATTING iv LIST OF FIGURES xi
CHAPTER 1 1
1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Why the Topic is Important 2 1.3 Resettlement in the Literature 2 1.4 The Aim Of The Study 5 1.5 The Research Problem 6 1.6 Explanation of Concepts 6 1.6.1 Resettlement, Removals, Relocation 6 1.6.2 Black Spots 7 1.6.3 Bantustan: Homeland: National State 7 1.6.4 Betterment Planning 7 1.6.5 Group Areas 8 1.6.6 Closer Settlement 8 1.7 Methodology 8 viii
PAGE
CHAPTER 2 10 2. The Liberal and Revisionist Interpretation ; of the Resettlement Policy 10 2.1 The Liberal Interpretation 10 2.2 The Revisionist Interpretation 13 2.3 A General View of Resettlement 15 2.3.1 Resettlement policy in other countries 16 2.3.2 Resettlement policy within South Africa 20
CHAPTER 3: THE REMOVAL OF BAKWENA BA GA MOLOPYANA FROM UITKYK AND DOORNKOP AND THEIR ECONOMIC POSITION 33 3.1 Reasons for their Removal from Uitkyk and Doornkop 34 3.1.1 Uitkyk 34 3.1.2 Doornkop 35 3.2 The Economic Position of the Tribe 37 3.2.1 The Economic position of the Bakwena at Uitkyk 37 3.2.2 Doornkop 39
CHAPTER 4 4.1 The Effects of Resettlement on the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane 41 4.2 Problems Related to the Questions of Compensatory Land 41 4.2.1 Compensatory Land : Fairview and Weldon 43 4.2.2 Compensatory Land: Portion 4 of Fairview 48 iX
PAGE
4.3 Lack of Enterprising Farmers 52 4.4 Lack of Employment Opportunities 58 4.5 Loss of Livelihood 60 4.6 A State of Despondency 62 Conclusion 62
CHAPTER 5: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE REMOVAL OF THE BAKWENA BA GA MOLOPYANE TO TSETSE 64
5.1 An Analysis of the Influence of Resettlement on the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane 64 5.2 Concluding Remarks 68
BIBLIOGRAPHY 70
ADDEMDUM A 76 INFORMANT NO. 1 (Resident and tribal councillor), 12 May 1995
ADDEMDUM B 80 INFORMANT NO. 2 (Peasant farmer) May 1995
ADDEMDUM C 84 INFORMANT NO. 3 (Peasant farmer May 1995 x"
ADDEMDUM D 88 INFORMANT NO. 4 (Resident) May 1995
ADDEMDUM E 91 INFORMANT NO. 5 (Resident and headman) May:1995
ADDEMDUM F 95 INFORMANT NO. 6 (former peasant farmer and business woman) May 1995
ADDEMDUM NO. 7 99 INFORMANT NO. 7 (Peasant farmer) May 1995
ADDEMDUM H 103 INTERVIEW A
ADDEMDUM I 104 INTERVIEW B XI
LIST OF FIGURES
• 4 PAGE
Figure 4.1 Recordings of rainfall in Ramatlabama from 1987 - 1996 55 CHAPTER 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Resettlement is a term that is used t6 desCribe the removal of peopg, from one place to another. Resettlement is also a term that is used to describe the removal of urban black spots and the reduction of the urban black population as a requirement of the policy of separate development. It also describes the overall policy and the process involved in the massive state-sponsored removal of people, most of them being blacks.' According to Elaine Unterhalter, the term forced removals in its most general sense can cover the whole process of dispossession which lies at the heart of the history of South Africa. The removals were carried out to maintain some of the essential structures of apartheid like migrant labour, division and segregation of the population and political subordination of the black majority. 2
All the abovementioned definitions of resettlement are applicable to local circumstances and will all be applied to this study.
According to the Surplus People Project, resettlement might imply that the people removed gain some benefits from such a process whereas it might disguise the fact that such people have been relocated forcefully. 3 What is pointed out here seems correct since people have been moved by force, in most cases from their ancestral land, in order to satisfy the government's wish of implementing its policy of apartheid through the establishment of bantustans. An example of forced removals could be that of the four hundred Mfengu familie-s who were forcibly moved two
1 Forced Removals in S.A. : The S.P.P. Reports, Voi. 1, p. XVI. 2 Elaine Unterhalter: Forced Removal : The Division, Segregation and Control of the People of South Africa. p. 4. 3 Forced Removals in S.A. : The S.P.P. Reports, Vol. 1, p. XVI. 2
hundred miles to the Ciskei between November 1977. and Januar.* 1978.4 They had lived in the Tsitsikama area near Humansdorp since 1835.
1.2 WHY THE TOPIC IS IMPORTANT
The importance of this topic lies in the effect resettlement had on millions of people's lives. There is a need for continuous research on resettlement and its results in order to highlight the effects resettlement had on communities and people. This case study will attempt to highlight issues relating to the broader phenomenon in general. Generally, irrespective of when resettlement is undertaken, it seems that the attachment of the affected people to their ancestral land is ignored. Resettlement has been indicated to be of a disruptive nature to the community regarding its social and economic position. It would appear that the affected were also not involved in decision making regarding their removal and choice of the new area of resettlement. Planning was done by the government without consulting people to be removed. It would appear that those affected by resettlement were left in a worse social and economic state than they were before the removal.
1.3 RESETTLEMENT IN THE LITERATURE
Much has been written on resettlement in South Africa and elsewhere in the world. Those among others who have done much work on the topic include S. Venter, No turning back, 5 I. A Niehaus, Relocation into Phuthaditjhaba and Tseki, 6 Eddie Kock, Lions in the heartland.'
4 Reallocations : The Churches' Report on Forced Removals p 7. S. Venter: No turning back: Leadership S.A. 10(1) February 1991, p. 57k 6 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditihaba and Tseki. A comparative ethnography of planned and unplanned removals. African Studies 48 (2) 1989, p. 147. 3
8 Relocations: The Churches report on forced .,.removals and H \'/V` 9 Schoenberg, Germans from the East.
S. Venter looks at the 1950 Group Areas Act as part of the National Party's strategy of segregating residential areas like District Six," Sophiatown and Pageview among others. By the end of 1980 about '7" 30 842 Cape Town families, most of them coloured, were resettled.
!sal( Niehaus compares the resettlement of blacks from the Schoonplaas location of Harrismith and from Orange Free State farms to Apollo, a township and Tseki, a closer settlement in Qua-Qua. He shows how removals from urban areas were planned whereas those from rural areas were unplanned. In both cases of resettlement people became impoverished
Eddie Kock deals with the resettlement of 3 000 Tsonga-speaking people called the Makulekes. They were removed from their ancestral land in 1969 to Ntlaveni, so that the Kruger National Park could be extended. They were removed from the land of plenty to that of poverty. The dry savanna conditions at Ntlaveni did not have the same mix of natural resources that had sustained them at their former village.
The Christian Churches of South Africa also studied the reality of removals. They looked at communities that were affected and the nature and extent of removals throughout South Africa. The Churches also report on the great sufferings which are usually caused by removals.
Schoenberg highlighted the displacement of millions of people in the twentieth century caused by World War I and II. He indicates the
Eddie Kock: Lions in the heartland: Leadership S.A.,13,(3), 1994, p. 100-104. 8 Relocations: The Churches' report on forced removals. The S.A. Council of Churches and The Southern Africa Catholic Bishops Conference, Randburg, 1984. 9 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditjhaba and Tseki, p. 158. 4
attempts at solving the problem through compulsory population..., exchange in terms of agreements between nat ions. This study reveals the differences between causes of resettlement in Europe and .$outh Africa. In Europe the causes were related to war and natural disasters among others, while in South Africa the causes of resettlement were related to the government's attempts to separate the races in order t9 preserve white supremacy. Such a compai -ative study broadens one's' understanding of the forces behind resettlement.
In South Africa the literature on resettlement tends to focus on the lack of government planning when resettling communities, especially those from rural areas. Even in the case of urban removals planning seems to have been inadequate. As a result, land allocated to removed people seems to have been inadequate. It seems it was not equal in size to the land they had been removed from, causing the victims great problems and hardship, for example, of the 20 000 hectares promised to the Makulekes from the area between the Luvhana and Limpopo they only received 5 000 hectares. People from Venda and Gazankulu were resettled on portions of land given by the park in exchange for the Makulekes' homeland. 1° The former Schoonplaas residents had to share Apollo with people who had lived in a shantytown northeast of Phuthaditjhaba. 11 In the case of Lebowa, areas originally planned according to the betterment schemes seem to have become recipients of people moved out of urban areas or white-owned farms resulting in reduced size of arable land or allotments. 12 It would also appear that the government did not intend making reserves thriving centres of agriculture and industry as this would threaten the availability of migrant labour. 13
10 Eddie Kock: Lions in the heartland, p. 103. 11 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditihaba and Tseki, p. 42. 12 C. de Wet: Thoughts on betterment planning in S.A. p. 101. 13 Ibid., p. 162. 5
A closer look at these publications reveals a ,mwxist interpretation of resettlement. It would appear, according to the marxist interpretation, that the intention had been to destroy the .economic independenbe of blacks. The aim was to impoverish blacks through dispossessibn in order to create a reservoir of labour from which capitalist farmers and' industrialists could draw when the need arose. 14 The forme)', Schoonplaas residents seem to have been forced to sell their cattle. As more houses were constructed in Phuthaditjhaba, grazing areas for their cattle were reduced. 15 . On white-owned farms in the Orange Free State the rights of workers to keep stock and to plough fields were curtailed and they became wage-earners. 16. The government appeared to have aimed at transforming blacks from an independent livelihood as cattle- owners to a wage-earning class.
1.4 THE AIM OF THE STUDY
The aim of the study is firstly to look at the resettlement policy in general in order to explain the perspective against which the resettlement of the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane can be understood The study will then focus on the case of the Bakwena tribe, which will explain particular experiences of a specific community affected by resettlement. The evaluation of the reasons for the removal of the tribe from Uitkyk and Doornkop to the present Tsetse and an assessment of the effects of resettlement will cast more light on the broader issues and lead to a understanding of how this tribe has been affected by resettlement.
The study begins in 1931. It will not examine their socio-economic position at Tsetse. This area needs thorough research. This study will
14 Christopher Saunders: Writing history, p. 97. 15 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditjhaba and Tseki, p. 161. 16 Ibid., p. 162. not be able to handle this aspect due to its limited scope as a mini- thesis.
1.5 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
How were the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane affected by resettlement?' The study will focus on the reasons for the removal of the tribe from Uitkyk and Doornkop and their economic position at the two farms. The study will concentrate on their loss of land, cattle, distance from the market and places of employment and their livelihood. The problem which other researchers seem not to have yet highlighted is that of the state of despondency among the victims of forced removals. Loss of hope, discouragement caused by resettlement appears to have inhibited the tribe from improving their lot. They appear to put the blame for their misery on the government and seem to be doing little to save themselves.
1.6 EXPLANATION OF CONCEPTS
1.6.1 Resettlement, removals, relocation
Resettlement, removals, relocation are terms used to describe the removal of people from one place to another and in most cases against their will. They refer to a relatively permanent moving away of people from one geographical location to another. The concept forced relocation or removal is preferred to the concept resettlement. The latter implies that the people removed gain some benefit from such a process when they are removed against their will, whereas forced removal emphasises the removal of people without consent and against their will. 7_
1.6.2 Black Spots
Black spots were African-owned and African settled lands usually farms. 17 This concept was used in the 1960's when this category of land was threatened with removal because it fell within what was considered a white area.
1.6.3 Bantustan : Homeland: Nation State
Bantustan, homeland and nation state are terms which have been applied by government officials at various stages of S.A. history to the areas set aside for blacks.
Bantustan is a term which was used since 1948 until 1959 to describe several regions designated as separate states to be inhabited and governed by the Bantu.
Homelands is a term which was used from 1959 to describe Bantu tribal regions set aside as separate states.
Nation states is the most recent term to have been coined by the government. The term referred to separate development, self governing blacks states set up under the Black States Constitution Act of 1971 and was used until 1994.
1.6.4 Betterment planning
This was an attempt by the S.A. government from the 1930's to fight erosion, to conserve the environment and to improve agricultural production in black reserves. Rural locations were reorganised into
17 Relocations: The Churches' report on forced removals, p. 85. separate residential, arable and grazing areas in order to ensure better ;• land use. Residential, arable and grazing areas Were fenced off. 18
1.6.5 Group Areas
These were areas that were proclaimed solely for occupation by either whites, coloureds or Indians in terms of the Group Areas Act of 1950. The Act also affected trading rights and interracial property transactions. 19
1.6.6 Closer Settlement
This was a type of settlement established for blacks in bantustans for residential purposes only. People removed from black spots and white farms were generally relocated to these settlements. They were provided with temporary accommodation and expected to build their own permanent houses. 29
1.7 METHODOLOGY
Extensive work was involved in conducting intensive primary research. In May 1995 interviews were conducted in Tsetse. Interviewees were to answer the same number and type of prepared questions which required short and long answers. The transcribed interviews are added as addendi at the end of the study.
Secondary research was then conducted by going through published secondary sources in the Rand Afrikaans University Library.
18 C. de Wet: Thoughts on betterment planning in S.A., p. 85. 19 Forced removals in S.A: The S.P.P. reports, Vol. 1, p. XVII. 20 Ibid., p. XVIII. Primary archival research was conducted. In the. State Archives official documents were consulted such as the archives of the Department of Bantu Administration, Native Affairs Department and Office of the Governor-General. Matters concerning the buying and selling of land by blacks were handled by the Department of Native Affairs and Bantu Administration. 10
CHAPTER 2 :
2. THE LIBERAL AND REVISIONIST INTERPRETATION OF THE RESETTLEMENT POLICY
Liberal historians such as W.M. MacMillan, Eric -Walker and C.W. de Kiewiet and radical historians such as Anthony Atmore, Shula Marks, M. Legassick and H. Wolpe, differ on the interpretation of segregation. They seem to differ on the origin and development of segregation and the factors that would undermine segregation.
2.1 THE LIBERAL INTERPRETATION
The policy of resettling blacks in hbmelands, started in the 1960's, was based on the policy of segregation and discrimination which, according to liberal historians, originated in the 18th and 19th centuries frontier situations. 21 Walker agrees and carries the notion further by pointing out that segregationist policies designed to preserve white superiority in all fields of life were the product of irrational white fears originating in a distant frontier. 22 De Kiewiet supports these views when pointing out that segregation had roots that went back to the very beginning of the establishment of white domination in South Africa. 23 J.W. Cell suggests the factors responsible for the Afrikaners' discriminatory and segregationist attitude. He mentions the rigid Calvinism brought by Dutch and French Huguenots in the 17th century, their almost total isolation from the liberalising influence of European thought in the 18th and 19th centuries and their discriminatory constitutions in the Orange
21 F.A. van Jaarsveld: Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse Verlede, p. 45. 22 Christopher Saunders: Writing History: SA's urban past and other essays p. 92. 23 Christopher Saunders: The making of the S.A. past, p. 99. Free State and Transvaal which rejected equality, in church and state. This assertion is confirmed by Van Jaarsveld who cites Calvinism and racial contact as responsible for the Afrikaners' colour prejudice and 25 segregation.
These segregationist policies were transferred to the cities where they . restrained the extension of a modern and liberal unitary state. 26 The new trekkers, i.e. poor Afrikaners had moved to the cities in recent decades. Furthermore, the old irrational white fears made the new trekkers to erect new boundries against black advancement. 27
In the 19th century blacks and whites had competed for land in the rural areas, but in the 20th century urban society they competed for work. This resulted in the state planning and regulating the social, economic and political order. Whites were protected against blacks by applying race discrimination. 28 This view is supported by Fair who points out that the government became determined to rid white South Africa of the unproductive, the unemployed, the disabled and those too young to work. 29 In short, the government implemented the policy of forced removals of the surplus blacks in white South Africa who were to be resettled in homelands.
The views of liberal historians like De Kiewiet highlight the fact that segregation and resettlement in homelands would not work. De Kiewiet pointed out that segregation which had been tried since the days of Van Riebeeck in the 1650's never worked. The reason was that the forces which bring people together had always been stronger than the attempt to keep them apart. The history of South Africa had been one of growing
24 J.W. Cell: The highest stage of white supremacy, p. 6. 25 F.A. van Jaarsveld: Omstrede Suid-Arikaanse Verlede, p. 49. 26 Ibid., p. 45. 27 Christopher Saunders: Writing history p. 92. 26 F.A. van Jaarsveld: Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse Verlede, p. 45. 29 T.J.D. Fair: The Surplus People: Forced removals in S.A., p. 28. 12-
, interaction between people and incorporation into one :economic system.3° Van Jaarsveld in Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse Verlede confirms these views by pointing out that blacks had become part of the white society which made both groups economically interdependent. 31 In The Afrikaners' interpretation of S.A. history he pointed out that the greatest social and economic fact in the hi story of the century was the universal dependence on black labour but not gold or diamond mining or even agriculture. 32
Another factor which would make segregation and the policy of resettlement unworkable was segregation and economic growth, which, according to the liberals, were incompatible since economic growth would undermine segregation. 33 The liberals further maintained that the barriers of segregation hampered more rapid development. 34 As economic growth was both rational and race blind, in the long run the needs of a modern economy would enforce change upon the S.A. system of legalised racial discrimination. Economic growth would thus break down the bonds of racism and the policy of resettlement.
For De Kiewiet, the growth of secondary industry would make segregation and resettlement unworkable. 35 Christopher Saunders supports this view by stating that secondary industrialisation would bring racial segregation to an end. 36 Liberals believed that the forces of industrialisation would by themselves erode apartheid which had no place in a modern industrialising society. De Kiewiet explained that the growth of manufacturing industry would require more skilled workers. As the white community was small in number more blacks would have to be
30 Christopher Saunders: Writing history, p. 93. 31 F.A. van Jaarsveld: Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse Verlede p. 49. 32 F.A. van Jaarsveld: , The Afrikaner's interpretation of S.A. history p. 141. 33 Christopher Saunders: The making of the S.A. past, p. 98. 34 Ken Smith: The changing past p.143. 35 Christopher Saunders: Writing history p. 93. 36 Christopher Saunders: The making of S.A. past p. 98. 13
trained for such jobs. 37 If skills had to be learned migrancy would not be.' possible as blacks would have to be allowed to settle in towns. Industrialisation and permanent black urbanisation seemed to go together. The liberals regarded restrictions on the mobility of -.black labour, i.e. influx control, and the reservation . of jobs for whites as making., no economic sense. As industrialisation was a progressive modernising. process if left unimpeded, it would establish 'a free social order. Michael O'Dowd of the Anglo American Corporation stated in 1964 that the new economic growth of the 1960's would, by the 1980's, lead to a full dismantling of apartheid which would introduce a democratic welfare state on the British model. 38 Christopher Saunders supports this by emphasising that industrialisation in Britain had led to greater democracy and that South Africa would follow the same path. 39 The franchise was gradually extended following industrialisation in Britain. 40 The prediction of Ralph Horwitz was that conflict would grow between the state and its racial policies and the economy. This would eventually lead to an explosion.41 '
2.2 THE REVISIONIST INTERPRETATION
The revisionists maintained that economic development did not break down apartheid and that white domination and the rapid economic growth would not prove the impracticability of apartheid. Their argument was that further economic growth would not prove how impractical apartheid was but would demonstrate its practicality. 42 Evidence provided by Saunders was that of the massive economic growth, enjoyed by South Africa in the late 1960's while segregationist policies were
37 Christopher Saunders: The making of S.A. past, p. 98. 38 Ibid., p. 94. 39 Christopher Saunders: The making of the S.A. past, p. 169. 40 Christopher Saunders: Writing history p. 94. 41 Ibid., p. 94. 42 Ken Smith: The changing past, p. 172. 14
implemented more rigidly and thoroughly, from petty apartheid to the.7d • •• „ grand apartheid of bantustans and mass forced removals."
According to Frederick Johnstone, there was collaboration between capitalist development, apartheid policies and white supremacy and that, white supremacy would continually be reinforced by economid-, development.” Van Jaarsveld confirmed this view and referred to the state as an agent of capitalism. He stressed that the state applied coercive measures such as wage restrictions, pass laws and influx control to guarantee class domination. 45 Johnstone further stated that apartheid was rationally conceived to restrict black advancement and that the aim was to provide employers with the cheapest possible labour and to arrange the reproduction and regulation of that labour. 46 Van Jaarsveld supported this view by pointing out that black reserves, later homelands, were reduced to areas which could supply cheap labour and which subsidised the wages of migrant labourers. 47
The S.A. state was a class state which guaranteed white domination and capitalist exploitation of workers. This was indicated by the actions of the state of destroying black resistance whenever it contained a threat to capitalism. This kept the black working class in a permanent subordinate position. That is why radicals regarded the state as an agent for racism and partner of capitalism maintaining white domination and applying force so as to provide cheap labour. 48 Radicals pointed out that there was no antagonism between the system of racial domination and economic growth as they were functional to and benefited from each
43 Christopher Saunders: Writing history p. 95. 44 Ibid., p. 95. 45 F.A. van Jaarsveld: Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse verlede p. 104. 46 Christopher Saunders: Writing history p. 96. 47 F.A. van Jaarsveld: Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse verlede, p. 104. 48 Ibid., p. 104. 15
other. They were inseparable and mutually reinforcing because the' more prosperity whites enjoyed the more secure white supremacy was.'
Furthermore mine capitalists, when determining the low wages of black migrant workers, took the existence of reserves into consideration. 504 Christopher Saunders pointed out that reserves and later homelands;- were a central element in the whole system .of segregation as they served the interests of mining capital by subsidising labour costs. 51 Migrant labour was paid a minimal wage as their families could support themselves in the homelands. After their period on the mines, migrants themselves would resume subsistence farming in the rural areas.
The revisionists argued in the 1970's that foreign investment, which was furthering economic growth and bolstering white supremacy, would cease in South Africa because white supremacy was objectional. 52 The power of black labour would grow and the capitalist order would be eventually swept away in a revolutionary transformation. The policy of resettlement would thus be made unworkable.
2.3 A GENERAL VIEW OF RESETTLEMENT
This chapter is going to deal with the liberal and revisionist's interpretation of the resettlement policy. It is also going to look at the factors like wars, political upheavals and natural disasters, among others, as causes of resettlement in other countries and the government policy of apartheid within South Africa.
as Christopher Saunders: Writing history, p. 96. 50 F.A. van Jaarsveld: Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse verlede, p. 103. 51 Christopher Saunders: The making of the S.A. past, p. 171. 52 Ibid., p. 176. 16
2.3.1 Resettlement policy in other countries
In other countries resettlement of communities has been dictated by factors like wars, political upheavals, natural disasters, government policy and development projects. These fictors have forced people to. leave their houses, farms and communities to make a living elsewhere.
The twentieth century has been called the "Century of the Homeless Man" because of millions of people who have been displaced 53 and one of the largest resettlement operations in European history involved the transfer of 400 000 Karelians to Finland from the former Soviet Union following the 1939-40 and 1941-44 wars. 54 Before 1939 about 30 million people were forced to leave their homes while about 40 million were shifted from one place to another during World War II. More than 130 million people were uprooted and scattered throughout more than 40 different countries in half a century. Divisions, annexations, boundary changes and territorial arrangements have displaced about 50 million people. 55 According to Schoenberg the largest involuntary mass migration occurred in China during the invasion of Japanese forces in 1937. 56
In Africa refugees originated as a result of wars among Africans themselves more than from colonial wars against Europeans or European powers. 57 The Mail and Guardian of 1-7 December 1995 supports this view by referring to the 1.3 million Rwandan refugees living in a giant city campus in Zaire and about 700 000 in Tanzania. 58 They are Hutus who were forced to leave Rwanda following the 1994 civil war. Cernea also refers to the war for Angolan national liberation which
53 H.W. Schoenberg: Germans from the East. p. 1. 54 M.M. Cernea and G.E. Guggenheim: Anthropological approaches to resettlement, p. 87. 55 H.W. Schoenberg: Germans from the East p. 1. 56 Ibid., p.1. 57 A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p.15. 58 Mail and Guardian, December 1-7, 1995, p.15. started in 1961. In 1966 about 4 000 Angolans.fled to Zambia and by 1973 the number had increased to 22 000. 59 In addition to wars the World Bank's projects have forced many people to relocate. 60 The Presidents of Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Zaire agreed in 1995 to create conditions for the return of 10 000 refugees daily to Rwanda. — Now recently Rwanda urged the UN -Security Council to take up the. plight of thousands of people displaced by ethni6 fighting in Zaire. 62
There is a difference between involuntary displacement caused by famine or war and involuntary displacement caused by development projects. Displacement caused by development projects is an action of a planned political decision to take away land from its current users. Although the World Bank has been blamed for large-scale involuntary resettlement caused by its financed dams and other construction projects, an internal investigation discovered that it was responsible for less than three percent of world-wide resettlement, which was less than displacement caused by war, famine or urbanisation. Development projects only created 2.5 million development refugees between 1986 and 199363 as compared to the 40 million people who were shifted from one place to another during World War 11. 64 Though, as pointed out by Cernea, in terms of international law, the state can take over private land for national public works, 65 it has been shown that pressure can make the government to change its mind. The case in point is of the Narmada dam system which threatened to displace 200 000 people in Western India.66 About 3 000 large and small dams were to be built on the Narmada River. Protests by human rights and environmental groups led to an independent investigation, resulting in a report blaming India and
59 M.M. Cernea and G.E. Guggenheim: Anthropological approaches to resettlement, p.378. 60 Time, July 25, 1994, p. 41. 61 Mail and Guardian, December 1-7, 1995, p. 15. 62 City Press, May 20, 1996, p. 4. 63 Time, July 25, 1994, p. 42. 64 H.W. Schoenberg: Germans from the East, p. 1. 65 M.M. Cernea and G.E. Guggenheim: Anthropological approaches to resettlement, p. 4. 66 Time, July 25, 1994, p. 42. 18
the World Bank for a lack of planning. India refused to take corrective* measures and in March 1993 it rejected further Bank funding for the project.
4 But in other cases the government carried out its plans. Evidence in,. support of this view is that of forced relocatiOn of the majority of North - American Indians who suffered complete removal from their ancestral land while others lost a major portion of their land. 67 The cause of relocation was the construction of public work projects, mostly dams to create water resources. The government was enabled to take over additional Indian land for the sake of energy development. The US government had undertaken Project Independence to make the country less dependent on foreign energy sources. Though such situations may conflict with interests of groups and individuals who were immediately and adversely affected, these projects were of crucial importance for national or regional development. 68
The resettlement of uprooted people differed from country to country, ranging from the exchange of minority groups, encouragement of Negroes to resettle in Africa to planned resettlement of the victims of natural disasters. In the case of evacuated Karelians from ceded areas, they were placed into temporary lodgings under a system of relief, welfare and social service and then resettled. But after the re- annexation of the area during 1941-44 not all displaced people returned to Karelia. Financial and legal arrangements were made to compensate and transfer land. By 1951, 99% of all targeted land required for resettlement had been distributed. 69
67 A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration p. 159. 68 M.M. Cernea: Involuntary resettlement in development project, p. 4. 69 M.M. Cernea and G.E. Guggenheim: Anthropological approaches to resettlement p. 88. 19
In the case of Belize (formerly British Honduras) resettlement schemes, were undertaken following the destruction of Huericane Hattie in1960 ) Widespread dislocation made the government to provide immediate housing in Hattieville. People were removed from the destroyed Belize city to allow reconstruction to begin. They were settled near their homes .. so that they could become involved in the reconstruction process. The long term Georgetown resettlement scheme was also initiated after the' destruction of the village of Seine Bight. In Hattieville some refugees returned to Belize city while others remained. Those who remained made use of the advantages offered by the new location such as, subsidized housing and utilities and the ability to appeal to the government on grounds that it had brought them there. 71 In Georgetown those who had been least successful in Seine Bight had remained because of the difficulties of making it through migratory wage labour. Others saw in Georgetown an opportunity for self-improvement, but the resettlement failed due to lack of sustained financial and technical assistance from the government in the critical period of transition. The people could not adapt to the land as their main source of livelihood.
In the case of victims of World War I and II, treaties were signed to provide for voluntary reciprocal emigration of ethnic and religious minorities. 72 An example is that of the Lausanne convention of 1923 between Turkey and Greece and the Potsdam Protocol of August 1945 by the Allied powers. In addition to this, boundaries were redrawn around some ethnic groups while other minority groups were moved across them. Communist governments resettled about 9,5 million of their people after World War II to fill gaps created by the expulsion of East Germans from East Europe. 73 By 1955 the Soviet government had resettled 8 million people from Poland, the Baltic area and the Soviet
70 A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p. 125. 71 Ibid., p. 129. 72 H.W. Schoenberg: Germans from the East, p.11 73 Ibid., p. 17.. 20
Union itself. In America the Gavapas Indians, who had originally, • . occupied all of central and most of western' Arizona, experienced relocation several times. They were moved to reservations around military stations in the early 1860, to Rio Verde. Reservation by 1873 and San Carlos in 1878. In 1900 they were allowed to return to their. homeland where suitable land for farming and grazing had been takefl by white settlers. 74 They had to make a living by working for farmers and' ranchers. With regard to freed Negroes the American Colonisation Society was formed in 1817 for their emigration to Africa. 75 Between 1790 and 1860 the number of freed-men had increased from 59 000 to 488 000, making certain individuals to regard emigration as the only possible remedy against future Negro domination. Negroes emigrated to Liberia and Monrovia and in 1833, those who did not wish to go to Liberia founded the Independent African State of Maryland which voluntary annexed itself to Liberia in 1857. 76 But most of Negro leaders, looked with disfavour on the Africans dream as Africa of the 1920's was not the same as Africa of the 1960's.
2.3.2 Resettlement policy within South Africa
In South Africa people have been uprooted and relocated by the government since the early 1960's as part of the government policy of apartheid!" Dougie Oakes points out that it was due to the decolonisation of Africa in the early 1960's that apartheid theoreticians had to look for ways of preserving white power in Southern Africa. 78 In order to prevent political democracy, and thus power sharing, the government came up with the bantustan policy in order to give blacks political rights in their own states. 79 T.J.D. Fair qualifies these
A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p.169. 75 A.J. Demarest: Resettlement, p. 123. 76 Ibid., p.124. 77 Forced removals in S.A.: S.P.P. Reports, Vol. 1, p. 1. 78 Dougie Oakes: Readers Digest: Illustrated history for S.A., p. 424. 79 Relocations: The Churches' Report on forced removals, p. 16. 21
statements by pointing out that the 1960's and 1970's were times of ths , • emergence of the full blown bantustan policy- and - an era of mass removals. 80 Chris de Wet supports him by . pointing out that during the late 1960's and 1970's blacks were removed from farms, towns,., cities and black spots to homelands as they were regarded as redundant in the industrial and urban areas of South Africa. 81. These views are cemented by the churches' report which states that the relocation programme was aimed at removing millions of blacks out of urban and white agricultural areas to the homelands. 82
According to Hansen and Oliver-Smith the basis of population displacement in South Africa was the government policy which envisioned adjoining geographical states organised on an ethnic basis. 83 This was a clear-cut and quite simple policy which aimed at achieving complete separation between white and non-white socially, politically, economically and territorially. 84 As many whites were inclined to regard themselves as superior, they were reluctant to recognise the equality and human rights of others. Their removal and resettlement came as a result of attempts to eliminate competition for labour on the mines, industries and farms which sought high profits for themselves. 85 The aim behind resettlement was thus to provide a docile and subjugated work force so that producers could gain an edge over their black competitors. Christopher Saunders casts more light on these arguments by pointing out that the massive economic growth enjoyed by South Africa in the late 1960's resulted in more rigid and thorough implementation of the bantustan policy and mass forced removals. 86
80 T.J.D. Fair: The Surplus People: forced removals, p. 230. 81 C. de Wet: Thoughts on betterment planning in S.A., p. 113. 82 Relocation: The Churches' Report on forced removals, p. 40. 83 A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p. 148. 84 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p. 40. 85 Relocations: The Churches' Report, p. 18. 86 Christopher Saunders: Writing history, p. 95. 22
This was in line with the aim of preserving white power in South Africa,/ which could be achieved by coming up with a plan of transforming the country's existing black areas into states in which blacks would exercise full political rights. This view was expresSed by Connie Mulder, the Minister of Plural Relations in 1978 when stating that there will be no, more black South Africans. 87 This was in p6rsuit of the goal of no more black South African's by the National Party. 88 The bantustans were to provide a geographical position in which removed blacks could be settled and confined through passes or passports and influx control measures. 89 The aim of controlling the black population was to lead to a policy of having as few blacks as possible in white areas. The National Party thus created ethnic group areas and members of other groups residing in a wrong ethnic group area had to be moved in order to create ethnically pure areas. An example is that of the Sothos who were removed from Bophuthatswana when it took independence and Onverwacht was to become part of Qwa-Qwa but it never did. 9° Residential plots were to be made available on production of a reference book and a Qwa-Qwa citizenship card, but people of all backgrounds made their home there. 91
To give effect to resettlement in the bantustans the laws that were passed were the Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act of 1951, the National States Constitution Act No. 21 of 1971 and the Black Prohibition of Interdicts Acts. 92 In terms of the National States Constitution Act No. 21 of 1971 blacks were citizens of one or other of the bantustans. The Act provided for the adjustment of bantustan borders to include or exclude land at will, in order to accommodate the removals. The granting of independence to these territories, already achieved in the Transkei, Ciskei, Bophuthatswana and Venda, completed the process of
87 Forced removals in S.A.: The S.P.P. Reports, Vol. 1, p. 2. 88 L. Platzky: Relocation and poverty, p. 2. 89 Relocations: The Churches' report, p. 45. 90 Forced removals in S.A: The S.P.P. Reports, Vol. 1, p. 9. 91 W. Beinard: Twentieth century S.A., p. 201. 92 Forced removals in S.A. Vol. 1, p. 2. 23
dispossession. The Black Prohibition of Interdicts Act provided for the prevention of victims of removal from petitioning the courts even if it could be shown that the government had acted beyond its power in authorising or effecting a removal. The, government could not be restrained from carrying out its intentions. 'The security forces and police 4 could be used against those resisting and :activists could be detained:. The Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act of 1951 provided for the demolition of structures by government officials without prior notice to the occupants or owners.
Blacks were removed from their ancestral lands. In the rural areas the administration proposed rural development as a partial reason for the removal of the population and the other partial reason was to ensure ethnic purity on a wider geographic basis. In the case of urban communities displacement was based on the Group Areas Act and occurred at the expense of the political minority groups. 93 Venter confirms this view when stating that after the promulgation of the Group Areas Act, which intended to achieve as much separation as possible without endangering the white economy, the National Party's vision of 1948 of segregating residential areas, was implemented. 94 People were evicted from District Six, Sophiatown and Pageview.
From 1957 until the end of 1980 most of the 30.842 Cape Town families moved were coloureds. District Six lost about 60 000 people. 95 The S.P.P. points out that only a small number of whites were affected by the Act. 96 The Star of 11 March 1996 stated that the Department of Community Development had moved 305 739 Coloureds and 143 230 Indians A total of 93 979 Coloureds and 44 598 Indians awaited removal in terms of the Act. In contrast, fewer than 6 000 Whites had been
A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p. 149. 9a S. Venter: No turning back, p. 57. 95 W. Beihart: Twentieth century S.A., p. 147. 96 Forced Removals in S.A.: The S.P.P. Report, Vol. 1, p. 1. 24
removed. 97 According to the Churches' Report, .by 31 December 19874 , • about 600 000 people had been moved. This meant that, in terms of the Theron Commission Report of 1976, only 1 in 500 of all White families had been affected by removals as compared to 100 of every 500 Coloured and 160 of every 500 Indian .families. 98 The relocation of blacks has been carried out throughout the country for more than twenty five years with regional variations in the history, nature and style of removals. The number of blacks who became victims of forced removals was over 3.5 million. 99 It would appear that victims of forced removals were not wanted in some bantustans. Tswanas who were forced to move to Bophuthatswana were not welcomed by Bophuthatswana authorities. Minister Kgomongwe, who echoed the concern of his government about foreigners, stated on 21 April 1978 that citizenship rights would not be granted automatically after five years and the region was not an area for people thrown away from other countries. 100 This attitude of the Bophuthatswana authorities is highlighted by Beinart who points out that after the Ndzundza Ndebele had managed to regain land in segregationist state, it became a haven for about 50 000 refugees from Winterveldt, Bophuthatswana, who felt victimised as non- Tswanas. 1°1 Niehaus confirms the untenable situations in which these people found themselves. He points out that 2 000 people who were relocated from Thaba'Nchu, escaped harassment by Bophuthatswana authorities and those who fled from Herschel in the Transkei escaped harassment of Matanzima's rule. 102
Blacks thus lost their citizenship in terms of the Bantu Homeland Citizenship Act of 1970. This Act stated that every black is a citizen of
97 A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p. 149. 98 Relocation: The Churches' Report, p. 26 99 Forced removals in S.A: The S.P.P. Reports, Vo!. 3, p. 87. 100 Ibid. p. 59. 101 W. Beinart: Twentieth Century S.A, p. 202. 102 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation and Poverty, p. 2. 25
one or other of the ten Bantustans. 103 Those who•.could not be physically removed were legally disposed their claim to South Africa and became .• citizens of a foreign state. Those who spent their lives and labbur in White South Africa became politically powerless and remained voteless. 104 Millions of blacks were thus forced to seek self' determination in small territories carved out of South Africa by the S.*, government. Even those blacks who lived in urban areas were affected by resettlement as they were to be repatriated to settlements in homelands. According to G.F. Froneman, the former Deputy Minister of Justice, Mines and Planning, thousands of blacks were removed every year out of Johannesburg alone and sent to homelands as they did not qualify or were unable to prove that they qualify to live in an urban township. 105 In this manner millions of blacks were stripped of their S.A. citizenship. This happened when the Transkei became the first bantustan to take independence on 26 October 1976. When a bantustan became independent all blacks associated with it by language or culture automatically lost their S.A. nationality 106 and obtained the citizenship of that new state.
Niehaus points out that the experience of removal differed between blacks removed from urban areas and those removed from rural areas. Removals from urban areas involved prior planning to cater for the needs of those affected by allocating services. It should be pointed out that such planning was not up to standard as it will be demonstrated. Removals from rural areas were unplanned as no provisions were made to meet even the most basic needs of households. 107 This assertion is supported by Eddie Kock's evidence on the Makuleke tribe who were uprooted from the Northern reaches of the Kruger National Park and settled at Ntlaveni with two tents and a quarter acre of dense bush for
103 L. Platzky: Relocation and Poverty, p. 2. 104 Relocation: The Churches' Report, p. 51. 105 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p. 88. 106 Relocation: The Churches' Report, p. 51. 26
108 each family. Cosmas Desmond gives evidence. of blacks settled a t."7J. Limehill. They were provided with a water tank and a pile of folded tents which they did not know how to erect. 109 Hansen and Oliver-Smitli'also came to the same conclusion following the removal of the Batlhaping tribe under chief Jeffry Mosala from Majaneng. They stated that this wasq one of the many cases of people moved to areas where there were facilities and where provision was not made for water, housing, sanitation and related needs. This, it was argued was particularly true of cases relocated to the homelands. 11°
Blacks evicted from urban areas were housed in relocation townships within the bantustans. These townships offered far better facilities than closer settlements."' An example would be Ga-Rankuwa within Bophuthatswana. In March 1969 this township had about 6 000 houses, primary schools, a secondary school, churches, a crèche and clinic. 112 But there seems to have been differences in terms of planning and development in the relocation townships. According to Beinart these townships were badly planned rural slums which were urban due to their population density and lack of agricultural opportunity but rural in relation to facilities, services and employment. 113 Cosmas Desmond supports this view by pointing out that lack of employment applied to many of the better townships in the bantustans where houses and other facilities were provided. 114 The Mfengu removed from Humansdorp to Elukhanyweni in the Ciskei were faced with poor houses, fewer jobs and 115 lower wages. But Beinart concedes that infrastructure and industry were extended to some resettlement towns. 116 Such resettlement towns
107 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditihaba, p. 158. 108 Eddie Kock: Lions in the heartland, p. 103. 109 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p. 29. 110 A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p. 152. 111 C. Platzky: Relocation and Poverty, p. 4. 112 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p. 95. 113 W. Beinart: Twentieth Century S.A., p. 198. 114 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p.95. 115 Relocation: The Churches' Report, p. 8. 116 W. Beinart: Twentieth century S.A., p. 199. 27
are Namakgale of Phalaborwa and Ga-Rankuwa which serves the industries of Rosslyn. 117 One would wonder whether the government's intention concerning relocation was really about development or dispossession. In the case of rural removals this did not always seem • the case.
This now raises the question of the manner in which blacks were forced to move and whether it was their decision to do so. Hansen and Oliver- Smith's explanation of what constitutes forced removals is very concise. They point out that during forced removals the victims do not have the power to decide whether or not to leave. They are largely passive and their will is unimportant compared to the socio-political institutions that demand and direct the population movement. If removal is voluntary the affected people have to make a decision regarding the move away from the original place of residence and a decision regarding the selection of a new place. 118
In the case of most removals in South Africa they have been forced and sometimes direct force was used. Police and guns were used 119 as in the case of the Makuleke villagers whom the police threatened to shoot if they did not co-operate. 12° Niehaus refers to the people of the Schoonplaas location in Harrismith who were forced to move to Apollo in 1971. Their water supply was disconnected and when they attempted to march to the municipal offices in town, force was used to break the procession and committee members were arrested. He quotes a demoralised resident who stated that the very same people who were fighting, helped the police to load their furniture and that the police 121 destroyed their homes, schools, churches and everything.
117 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p. 95. 118 A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p.3. 119 Forced removals in S.A.: The S.P.P. Reports, Vol.1, p. 1. 120 Eddie Kock: Lions in the heartland, p. 103. 121 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditihaba, p. 161. 28 VIP
Sometimes overt violence like intimidation, the threat of shops arid' schools being closed down, co-option of community leaders to planning or steering committees to discuss the details of the removal proces's and not the principle itself, rumours and building restrictions on areas due for removal, were used. 122 When the Bakubung tribe, landowners in the, Boons district near Koster, refused to move to Ledig near Sun City ki Bophuthatswana in 1965, their schools and : churches were demolished•. they were imprisoned and ten of their leaders were charged with terrorism and spend nine months in jail. 123 Moseki's recognition as chief of the Batlhaping was withdrawn, his salary suspended and in February 1968 he and five senior members of the tribe were arrested for holding an illegal meeting. After charges were withdrawn further tribal meetings at Majeng were banned, schools closed, social pensions withdrawn, a tribal court demolished and homes demolished by bulldozers. 124
Though the state quickly described such cases as voluntary removals, the fact remains that blacks did not have political rights or freedom of movement. So there can be no reference to the exercising of a free choice about being moved. As Hansen and Oliver-Smith would put it, there was diminished power of decision and absence of a desire on the part of blacks to leave their place of residence. 125 The policy of relocation was therefore authoritarian and not based on voluntary and co-operative movement, but on coersion. The law was used as a tool of the government and not as neutral arbiter between two equal parties. 126 Platzky described the law as an instrument of control used to implement 127 government policy and not to protect the majority of the people. Niehaus sums up the position by saying that even though there were broader forces which shaped up people's lives like the decline of the
122 Forced removals in S.A.: The S.P.P. Report, Vol. 1, p.1. 123 D. Basson: Die stryd om grond, p. 10. 124 A. Hansen and A. Oliver-Smith: Involuntary migration, p. 151. 125 Ibid., p.4. 126 T.J.D. Fair: The surplus people: Forced removals in S.A. p. 238. 127 L. Platzky: Relocation and Poverty, p. 7. 29
demand for agricultural labour since the 1960',s,., those who decided to resettle in Qwa-Qwa, like others cases, were denied entrance into urban 128 areas. Mr Prinsloo of the Department of Co-operation' and Development, supported Niehaus' conclusion: he stated that the government had decided to move the people of Driefontein, in the South-' eastern Transvaal, and that there would be no further negotiations di% the matter. 129 Though the bulk of the people were not moved, in November 1982 those classified as Swazi's were taken to Lochiel in Kangwane and Zulu's were taken to Babanango in Natal. In the Orange Free State a quarter of a million of people were evicted or left the farms to settle in either Qwa-Qwa or Thaba'Nchu. Those employed in the small towns of the Orange Free State were allowed to live in hostels or private homes as domestic workers while their families had to move to the bantustans. 13°
International pressure sensitized the government to use direct overt force less frequently in effecting removals. 131 But there was scepticism about the government's new position: "Despite talks of reform there has been no change in policy and relocation sites continue to be prepared". 132 "The Minister of Co-operation and Development's pledge, Dr. Gerrit Viljoen, and the White paper on "Urbanisation" were simply designed to placate the international community." 133 The government did not shift from the apartheid policies of the past but used new mechanisms of dispossession. There is evidence that blacks were relocated to areas that were dry, had a shortage of water and no local employment, causing hardship and sufferings. According to dr. P. Smit, addressing the Congress of the Association of Geography Education, towns, that were developed in the homelands had no economic basis as
128 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditjhaba, p. 158. 129 Relocation : The Churches' Report, p. 9. 130 L. Platzky: Relocation and poverty, p.18. 131 Forced removals in S.A.: The S.P.P. Reports, Vol. 1, p. 18. 132 T.J.D. Fair: The surplus people : Forced removals in S.A., p. 238. 133 L. Bank: No place to rest: Forced removals and the law in S.A., p. 118. 30
134 there were no industries in or near them. Platsky supports this view,d when stating that relocation areas were delibei'ately -sighted far from centres of employment and without agricultural land which made people 135 to survive on migrant wages and old age pensions. According to Desmond, blacks had to survive on homeland economies, which were-, based on smallholder agriculture and money from migrant workers. 136
The people from Schoonplaas and those from the area between the Luvhana and Limpopo had been self-reliant and self-supportive because of the natural resources of the area, i.e., the soil was rich, water was plentiful, crops grew well, fish was in abundance and they lived on figs, mangoes, maroelas and berries that grew wild in the bushes. 137 Conditions at Ntlaveni were different. The dry area did not have the same mix of natural resources that had sustained their lifestyle. They had few wild fruit and vegetables and no fish.
At Schoonplaas people had cattle, planted crops, fished in the Wilge River and hunted dassies and hares. 138 In Phuthaditjhaba there were no grazing lands for their stock and they lived in an area of extreme variations in temperature. 139 Although on the whole conditions in relocation areas are not worse than in established communities in the bantustans. Removals, according to Cosmas Desmond, caused 140 hardships, sufferings, poverty and even starvation. The reason for this is that communities that were formerly living somewhat above the minimum level for survival were likely to experience relocations as a debilitating loss. 141
134 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p. 18. 135 L. Platzky: Relocation and poverty, p. 11. 136 W. Beinart: Twentieth century S.A., p. 204. 137 Eddie Kock: Lions in the heartland, p. 102. 138 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditjhaba, p. 160. 139 Ibid., p. 161. 140 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p. 21. 141 Relocation: The Churches' Report, p. 31. 31
To make matters worse, they were not given land equal in size to the-_, • land they had been removed from. Some were at limes not given housing or a plot. People from other areas were also resettled on the same lands, leading to violence. In Bophuthatswana people from the
Odi district, Winterveld, were forced to live in shacks due to a lack of : 4 housing or unaffordable rent and lack of plots. 142 At Ntlaveni people: from Venda and Southern Ga-Zankulu were resettled on portions of land given by the Kruger National Park in exchange for the Makuleke's homeland. 143 The former Schoonplaas residents had to share Diapollo with people who had lived in a shantytown northeast of Phuthaditjhaba. 144 The Fengu from Tsitsikama had been promised equivalent land at Elukhanyweni in Ciskei but the majority ended up with just a house plot. 145 Thus resettlement, instead of ensuring that affected people would maintain the same standard of living, resulted in impoverishment.
There seems to be general agreement that blacks were allocated about seven percent of the country for occupation in terms of the 1913 Native Land Act. According to Beinart the area reserved for black occupation 146 was more than 13% and according to the Churches' Report the area gradually increased to 13% after the 1936 Native Trust and Land Act. 147 This figure agrees with that of Platzky (13%) 148 and Desmond (13,7%)149 So, after 1936 about 87% of the country was occupied by Whites, Coloureds and Asians. The 13% was divided among the ten ethnic states which made up the constellation of National States.
142 Forced removals in S.A. The S.P.P. Reports, Vol, 3, p. 87. 143 Eddie Kock: Lions from the heartland, p. 103. 144 I.A. Niehaus: Relocation into Phuthaditjhaba, p. 161. 145 Relocation: The Churches' Report, p. 98. 146 W. Beinart: Twentieth Century S.A., p. 10. 147 Relocation: The Churches' report p. 39. 148 L. Platzky: Relocation and poverty, p.2. 149 C. Desmond: The discarded people, p. 41. 32
One would conclude that all reallocations ofblacks• .v • have to be seen in"? relation to the development of the bantustan policy. According to the Surplus People Project, relocation was seen in this light even in cases where the primary aim was not to boost that policy as in the ease of removing people to make way for a dam. 1 5° This claim of the S.P.P. difficult to accept. In the case of the people of Driefontein, tfiv , government claimed that the Heyshope dam to be build on the Assegai River would flood part of Driefontein. The actual fact was that less than one third would be flooded. 151 It is understandable why all relocations, no matter the objectives, have been regarded as boosting the bantustan policy. With the Betterment Scheme, of which the aim was to create a viable agricultural base in the reserves, arable land was reduced to accommodate people being moved out of urban areas or off white- owned farms. Betterment planning consequently was not an agricultural strategy, but a way of trying to pack the successive waves of people moved to the area. 152
150 Forced removals in S.A. : The S.P.P. Reports, Vol. 1, p. 2. 151 Relocation: The Churches' Report, p. 10. 152 C. de Wet: Thoughts on betterment planning in S.A.,' p. 101. 33
CHAPTER 3
3. THE REMOVAL OF BAKWENA BA GA MOLOPYANE FROM UITKYK AND DOORKKOP AND THEIR ECONOMIC POSITION
The Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane trekked from Thaba'Nchu and went to settle on the farm Uitkyk 33 in the district of Ventersdorp in 1878. Records indicate that the farm Uitkyk was the property of the Methodist Church of South Africa. 153 According to minutes of the Uitvoerende Raad the farm Uitkyk 33 was excluded from the definition of "Native Location" in terms of Paragraph (C) of the definition of "Native Location" in section 19 of the Native Taxation and Development Act, No. 41 of 1925. 154 The implication is that since Uitkyk was not defined as a black location or scheduled land or released area, it was situated on white land. In terms of the 1913 Native Land Act, the tribe could not have been allowed to buy land in a white area. Uitkyk was therefore land held by the Wesleyan Methodist Society which was conducting missionary work amongst natives occupying that land. There is evidence that a mrs H.M.J. Wolhuter had transferred the farm to Timothy Creswell, a minister of the Methodist Church, on 12 November 1878 in terms of deed No. 899. 155 This deed established who the rightful owners of the farm were. This was contrary to verbal non-legal claims by members of the tribe that Creswell had bought the farm on or about 11 November 1878 for the sum of i:1243 on their behalf. The tribe claimed that the farm was registered in Creswell's name as the law of the country did not allow blacks to own or buy land. 156 The tribe had no legal proof that this was the case.
153 P.L. Breutz: Die stamme van die distrik Ventersdoro, p. 102. 154 U.R.U., No. 828: Uitvoerende Raad Minute 1422-1485, 1926. 155 Deed 1072: Register No. 183-190, Folio 184/1, 12 November 1878. 156 Office of Governor-General, File no. 50/1404: Minutes 25 March 1931. 34-
The tribe referred the matter of the ownership ofAhe farm. Uitkyk to the Supreme Court in Pretoria. In 1927 judgment was given against them as they had no documentary proof that the farm was theirs. 157 The tribe left the farm in 1931 and squatted on the farm Watershoek in the district of Ventersdorp. In 1935 they settled on the farm Doornkop, No. 156, which, was bought from a mr G.J. Yssel and registered in the name of the. Minister of Native Affairs for Bakwena Ba Ga 'Molopyane. The farm Doornkop was in a released area. 158
3.1 REASONS FOR THEIR REMOVAL FROM UITKYK AND DOORNKOP
3.1.1 Uitkyk
It appears that the struggle for ownership of the farm Uitkyk by the tribe and the Methodist Church could have contributed to the removals of the tribe from the farm. Claims by the tribe that they were to enjoy the full benefit of the farm were denied by the Wesleyan Methodist Society. The Society argued that the natives had no right to or interest in the farm. 159 The natives on the other hand would not accept the fact that they had to live on the farm under a lease agreement which was to be renewed annually.
The tribe's claim of ownership to the farm was strengthened by the offer of £800 by the missionaries after they had lost the case. 16° This was the amount they had given rev. Creswell to buy the farm for them, according to a headman in Tsetse. This offer was rejected by another section of the tribe. As no solution could be found, the chief opted to leave Uitkyk
157 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Report of the Commission of Inquiry, 1986. 155 Deed 1452: Register no. 155-182, Folio 166/3/1, 4 February 1936. 159 Office of Governor-General, File no. 50/1404: Minutes, 25 March 1931. 160 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Pat 2: Report of the Commission of Inquiry, 1986. 35
with about thirty families. He was not prepared. to accept the leas6' agreement. They became squatters on Frans Fouche's farm, Watershoek. 161 To avoid the struggle for ownership of the farni, the Society decided to eject the remaining natives from the farm. Summonses were issued to the natives. This information is contained in -f a letter dated 7 October 1932 in which the natives, who Wed on the farrif- 162 Uitkyk, appealed to the Governor-General for help.
There seems to be a strong indication that another reason for the removal of the tribe from Uitkyk was the suspicion by the Society of the presence of precious minerals on the farm. The Society could make a fortune should it decide to sell the farm to a mining company. Recommendations were made for the proclamation of certain portions of the farm as the Uitkyk Alluvial digging in terms of section 41 of the Precious Stones Act No. 44 of 1927 in 1940. 163 An economic motive was thus the reason for the eviction of the tribe from the farm.
3.1.2 Doornkop
In 1935 the tribe moved to the farm Doornkop from the farm Watershoek where they had been squatting since 1931. In terms of deed No. 1452, the tribe bought the farm Doornkop from G.J. Yssel. It was registered in the name of the Minister of Native Affairs for the tribe. 164 They bought the farm for £800. 166
The tribe settled at Doornkop from 1935 to 1978. The farm Doornkop was in a released area. In 1978 the tribe had to move from the farm as the area was proclaimed a black spot.
161 P.L. Breutz: Die stamme van die distrik Ventersdorp, p. 102. 162 Office of Governor-General, File no. 50/1404: Minutes, 25 March 1931. 163 U.R.U., Ref No. 1877: Uitvoerende Raad Minute, 1940. . 164 Deed 1452: Register No. 155-182, Folio 166/3/1 4 February 1936. 165 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Report of the Commission of Inquiry, 1986. 36
In the 1960's and 1970's there were changes in the domestic policy of•., South Africa. These changes led to the emergence of the bantustan policy and an era of forced mass removals. 166 These changes were the result of the government's decision to prevent political democracy. in a unitary state and thus power sharing. The Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane were, in this process of change, affected. They were among the 280 000 blacks removed from the Transvaal in terms of "black spot" removals. 167
The tribe, was to be moved from the farm Doornkop, due to the consolidation policy. Before the removal of the tribe from the farm, some tribesmen were sent to various areas in Bophuthatswana to choose a suitable area for resettlement. According to one of the tribal councillors, after an extensive search, the tribe finally decided to settle in the new Tsetse area which was better than the other rocky and mountaneous areas alike in Rustenburg. 168 This view is confirmed by one of the residents of Tsetse. 169 There is no evidence of a negative reaction from the tribe to the order that they should move from Doornkop. In 1978 the Bakwena were removed from Doornkop and resettled on Portion 28 of Ramatlabama 377 and Portions 1 and 3 of Fairview 114 in the district of Molopo. 179 On January 1, 1982 this land was incorporated into Bophuthatswana.
166 T.J.D. Fair: The surplus people: Forced removals in S.A., p. 228. 167 T.R.H. Davenport: South Africa : A modern history, p. 448. 168 Informant No. 1 - Tribal councillor, 12/5/1995. 169 Informant No. 4 - Resident, 12/5/1995 170 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/13 135 :Part 1: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 4 October, 1990. 37
3.2 THE ECONOMIC POSITION OF THE TRIBE
3.2.1 The economic position of the Bakwena at Uitkyk
According to an extract from Minutes of Conversation at Potchefstroom . on Monday, November 8, 1880, of a meeting that was attended by rev; John Kilner, rev. Owen Watkins, rev. S. Barret and mr Hinds, the idea' was conveyed that the economic position of the tribe at Uitkyk was that of a struggling people. 171 What could be established, was that the farm did not have sufficient water. There was no river or stream on the farm, but one small fountain on the boundary. This fountain was not sufficient for the needs of the tribe. 172 If they were to have drought for two years, they would not have been able to remain on the farm and all their stock would have died. This contradicts claims by tribesmen that water was plentiful and that they had good rains. 173 Although it's true that a dam had been erected, it needed to be improved and enlarged so that sufficient water could be obtained for the needs of the community. 174 Unfortunately, the tribesmen were not prepared to work. Only forty young men agreed to help the chief to enlarge the dam. Insufficient water unsettled the people and made them rebellious against authority. Most of the men stated that they would leave the farm if water could not be found.
Crop farming was not good due to a lack of water. Only 89 of the married men out of 150 families, cultivated a portion of the farm. 175 This is contrary to claims by members of the tribe that they were farmers creating a picture of good life at Uitkyk. 176 The fact that they had only thirty two ploughs on the farm which had to be lent to those who had
171 Court Record, Supreme Court of South Africa (Transvaal Provincial Division), 1926, p 166. 172 Ibid., p. 167. 173 Informant No. 1 - 2/5/1995. 174 Court Record, p 167. 175 Ibid., p. 167. 176 Informant No. 5 - 2/5/1995. 38
none, is proof that they were not prosperous croRfasmers. 177 They were'7° practicing subsistence farming. They only plahted sweet corn, pumpkins and watermelons. It is doubtful whether the tribe always had food for everybody or had good times as claimed, 178 because there is evidence that though they produced sufficient food to : live on, it was sometimes -f with difficulty. 179
It is also doubtful whether the tribesmen were prosperous cattle farmers. Only 96 of the men possessed cattle, sheep, goats and horses. The size of the farm (335,6925 h) 180could not have allowed them to keep large herds of cattle. The lack of sufficient water also made stock farming difficult.
The intolerable conditions on the farm forced some of the families to leave and work for the white farmer without the knowledge or consent of the chief. 181 This refutes claims by tribesmen that there was no need for them to work for neighbouring white farmers. 182 Tribesmen who went to work on the Witwatersrand also experienced problems. Most of them returned home without any wages for services rendered and they were shamboked by the police when passes were demanded. 183 This would have discouraged their young men to work in white towns, adding to their economic plight. That the tribe experienced economic problems can also be deduced from the financial difficulties they experienced in paying the first installment on an adjoining farm they had bought for £2 000 where there was plenty of water. 184 They were also unable to pay rent, pleading poverty through loss of stock.
177 Court Record, p. 167. 178 Informant No. 4 - 12/5/1995. 179 Court Record, p. 167. 180 Deed 1072: Register no. 183-190, folio no. 184/1 12 November 1878. 181 Court Record, p. 167. 182 Informant No. 1 - 12/5/1995. 183 Court Record, p. 198. 184 Ibid., p. 167. 39
3.2.2 Doornkop
The size of Doornkop was 576,5773h. 185 According to mr Mark Hattingh, a commercial farmer of the farm Polka born and bred in the area, which lies next to Doornkop, the farm Doornkop consisted of a number of small plots which made commercial farming impossible. 186 According to_:: Hattingh, not all the tribesmen had plots. Mdst of them did nothing but loitered in the area. Hattingh's view was supported by mr Pieter van der Merwe, chairperson of the District Agricultural Union of Ventersdorp. 18 ' Mr van der Merwe bought the farm Goedgevonden, which also lies next to Doornkop, in 1968. He pointed out that commercial farming was out of the question as Doornkop was divided into plots. Their views refute allegations by tribesmen that they were prosperous farmers who sent 188 agricultural produce to a corporation in Lichtenburg, and had good crops and livestock which made them economically independent. 189 The lack of water would have made crop production difficult. According to mr. Hattingh the tribe fetdhed water in buckets far from the farm. Life could not have been good and there was not sufficient food for everybody. 190 The Bakwena practiced subsistence farming and bought vegetables from mr Hattingh's father. 191
The size of the farm and lack of water therefore made stock farming impossible. Not more than a hundred cattle could be kept on such a small farm. According to Hattingh and Van der Merwe the number of cattle kept by each tribesman was limited in order to avoid soil erosion. Claims that the tribe sold its milk in Lichtenburg can thus not be true. The tribe sold their cattle, goats and sheep among themselves whenever
185 Deed 1452: Register no. 155-182, folio 166/3/1, 4 February 1936. 186 Interview with mr Mark Hattingh - 15/8/1996. 187 Interview with mr P. van der Merwe - 15/8/1996. 188 Informant No. 7 - 12/5/1995. 189 Informant No. 1 - 12/5/1995. 190 Informant No. 6 - 12/5/1995. 191 Interview with mr M. Hattingh, 15/8/1996. 40
there were funerals or feasts. They could not have sent their cattle to- , abattoirs.
As the tribe could not have made a living out of farming, it is not possible that they could make an independent living. 192 As the majority of then-14 were not involved in small scale farming, they were to look elsewhere foi. • a living. Hattingh pointed out that some of , the people worked for neighbouring farmers, others worked in towns and the rest sat idle on the farm Doornkop. 193
It can thus be concluded that the economic position of the Bakwena on the farms Uitkyk and Doornkop was very weak., The mere fact that there was no water or dams on the two farms made it difficult to be involved in crop and stock farming. As a result they were not economically independent. Their untenable situation was aggravated by their unwillingness to enlarge the only dam at Uitkyk and to look for work elsewhere. They did not have a good time due to prevailing conditions at the two farms. The only alternative was to look for employment among neighbouring white farmers and in towns.
192 Informant No. 3 - 12/5/1995. 193 Interview with mr M Hattingh, 15/8/1996. 41
CHAPTER 4
4.1 THE EFFECTS OF RESETTLEMENT ON THE BAKWENA BA GA MOLOPYANE
In 1978 the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane were removed from Doornkop in the district of Ventersdorp because the farm was proclaimed a black spot. 194 They were resettled in the area presently known as Tsetse in the former Bophuthatswana. Tsetse is a betterment area and is divided into residential and agricultural land. A betterment area is a rural location organised into separate residential, arable and grazing areas in order to ensure better land use. Residential, arable and grazing land are fenced off. Tsetse is a dry and dusty area which is about fifteen kilometres from Mmabatho and about sixteen kilometres from Mafikeng. The only means of transport between Tsetse and Mafikeng are buses and taxis. Only two taxis are operating in the area because of the bad conditions of the gravel road to Tsetse. In 1978 there were between 80 and 100 families in Tsetse. 195 According to information provided by one of the tribal clerks, in 1995 Tsetse had a population of about 9 000 with about 1 007 houses. The area has thirteen churches and four schools, of which two are primary schools, one middle-school and one secondary school. There is also an early learning centre. There is one clinic, a tribal office, six general dealer stores, a bottle store and a butchery. There are three playgrounds, two grave yards and two agricultural lands divided into plots.•
According to one of the clerks of the Traditional Authority Affairs' Office, who is a resident of Tsetse, the S.A. government built a primary school and middle-school in Tsetse in 1979/80. At a meeting of 9 July 1982,
194 Department of the President, File No. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 42 ••■
held in Tsetse with officials from the Department of Co-operation amt., Development (SA) and officials from the BophuthatsWana government, the tribesmen complained of insufficient schools. The S.A. officials promised that their government would build a secondary school of twenty classrooms in 1983/4 as it had no funds to build it in 1982/3. 1964 According to Edwin Matsididi, a tribal clerk since 1984, when thq, secondary school was built in 1984 the people had already contributed. R10 024 towards its erection. 197 In 1984 the Secretary of the President informed the tribal authority that it was its responsibility to collect sufficient funds for the creation of schools and other facilities. 198 As a result about 1 000 taxpayers in Tsetse had to pay a tax of R30 each for the building of a new primary school. By 1987 four classrooms of the new primary school had been build and four other classrooms were to be built from the R30 contributed by each taxpayer. 199
On 7 June 1982 chief Jafta Malefo and two councillors signed a tribal resolution requesting the President of Bophuthatswana to impose a levy of R5 per taxpayer in terms of Section 6 of Bophuthatswana Act 23/78, read with regulation 31 (1) of Government Notice 33 of 1978). The tribe wanted to collect money for the building of schools and other buildings, and to meet the authorised expenditure of the tribe. 209 The imposition of the tribal levy was published in the Bophuthatswana Government Gazette, Vol. 11, No. 144 on 13 August 1982. Since 1982 until the general elections of April 1994 in South Africa the source of income for the tribal authority had been in the form of taxation levied on the villagers. In addition to the R5 levy per annum, the Bophuthatswana government paid a labour fee of R500 to the tribal authority for workers
195 Ibid. 196 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/2 (135) Part 1: Institution; Composition; Jurisdiction; Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 197 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 198 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/3 (135) Part 1: Financial matters; Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 199 Ibid. 200 Ibid. 43
collected from Tsetse. Villagers who had trollies, carts and cycles paid le, wheel tax of about R4 per year. The villagers p6iti . a dog tax of about R3 per year and business-men paid R60 per year. There was also an affiliation fee of R120 by newcomers to the yillage. 201 According to information provided by chief Malefo on 11 October 1996, with the exception of the affiliation fee of R120, the people have been influenced by political activists in the area not to pay:the other taxes which they.' regard as "apartheid" taxes. The tribal revenue for 1982/83 financial year was R10 371, for 83/84 - R10 000, for 1984/85 - R15 600,60 for 1985/86 - R20 618,95 for 1986/87 - R38 224, for 1987/88 - R50 839,10 for 1988/89 - R61 127,55 and for 1989/90 - R48 497. 202 The fluctuation in revenue was due to non-payment by some members of the tribe.
4.2 PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE QUESTION OF COMPENSATORY LAND
Since 1978 the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane have been struggling to have their compensatory land transferred and registered in the name of the tribe. The problems regarding compensatory lands are two-fold. The first problem concerns the transfer and registration of compensatory land in the name of the tribe. The second problem concerns compensatory land for private owners who had jointly bought Portion 1 (c) no. 156 of the farm Doornkop and Portion 5 (of 3) of the farm Doornkop in the Ventersdorp district.
4.2.1 Compensatory land : Fairview and Weldon
In 1978 the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane were resettled on the farm Fairview in the Mafikeng district, which was incorporated into
201 2°2 Ibid. 44
Bophuthatswana on 1 January 1982. 203 On 9 July 1982 there was o f meeting between the tribe and officials from the'SA Department of Co- operation and Development and Bophuthatswana Government at Tsetse. The tribesmen complained that though they had been promised the farms Weldon and Fairview,they were • only resettled on Fairview. which was also occupied by other people. The Bophuthatswana Government had been allowed by the SA GoVernment to use Weldon fora the Defence Force. Pretorius from the Department of Co-operation and Development promised to refer the matter to his Honorable Minister. 204 The Bophuthatswana Department of Foreign Affairs was informed about the said meeting and the bitter complaints of the tribe. This Department requested the Department of Co-operation and Development for detailed information on the exact area on which the tribe had been resettled.
At the seventh meeting of the RSA/Bophuthatswana Implementation committee held in Pretoria on 30 August 1982, Cilliers from the Department of Co-operation and Development reported that a portibn of the farm Trumpeter's Post could be put at the disposal of the tribe in the place of Weldon which had been given to the Bophuthatswana Defence Force. 205 At a meeting between the tribesmen and officials from Traditional Authority Affairs and the Department of the President, held on 3 December 1982, the tribe accepted a portion of Trumpeter's Post in exchange for the farm Weldon. 206 But the tribe wished to be shown the land offered at Trumpeter's Post before they could say whether or not they were satisfied.
After numerous enquiries by the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Bophuthatswana, the SA Embassy replied on 7 July 1983 that a Survey
203 Department of the President, File, no. 6/1/2(135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 204 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/2 (135) Part 1: Institution; Composition; Jurisdiction; Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 205 Ibid. 206 Ibid. 45
Map of the land at Trumpeter's Post was ready. A meeting would be : ,.,,•• arranged with the tribe to discuss the matter! A copy Of the Survey. Map was received by Foreign Affairs from the SA Embassy on 19 July 1983.
The Secretary of the President informed the Administrator of Molopo that -, his Department had drafted a prociamati6n including the portion of-,: Trumpeter's Post (now referred to as Ramatlabama 377-Portion 27) with the tribal authority. The draft proclamation was sent to the Administrator.
On 15 March 1984 SA officials accompanied by Bophuthatswana officials, pointed out the boundaries of Trumpeter's Post to the councillors, who then accepted the farm on behalf of the tribe. 207
In terms of an undated Bophuthatswana Government Gazette, the tribal area of the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane tribe and tribal authority would consist of Portion 27 of the farm Ramatlabama 377 (ex-Trumpeter's Post) and Portions 1 and 3 of the farm Fairview. 208
The tribe nevertheless still experienced occupational problems regarding Portion 27 of the farm Ramatlabama 377. In a letter dated 14 May 1984 from chief Malefo to the Administrator of Molopo, the chief complained that the tribe was instructed by two detectives from Mmabatho, to remove their cattle from the farm Ramatlabama which was said to have been leased to Kgotleng and Mmono on the strength of an administrative arrangement between the RSA and Bophuthatswana Government for grazing purposes. 209 The Secretary of the President informed the Department of Lands and Rural Development not to extend the lease so that use of the farm could be transferred to the tribe. According to the
207 Ibid. 208 Ibid. 209 Ibid. 46
Department of Lands and Rural Development, the temporary lease oh, the farm would expire on 31 August 1984. 210 BetWeen 6 November 1984 and 26 August 1985 Kgotleng had not vacated the farm. She was still looking for alternative grazing land. Segopola remained on the farm as he had become a member of the tribe. 211 He had entered into a contract, with the tribal authority to cultivate tribal land on harvest share basis. 21 ,. As there were no grazing lands vacant to be offered to Kgotleng, she had promised to approach the chief with her plight.
Meanwhile, the Department of Co-operation and Development had, on 20 March 1985, requested a tribal resolution from the Bophuthatswana Department of Foreign Affairs in order to register Trumpeter's Post in the name of the tribe. The names and dates of birth of those who would act in the name of the tribe were to be provided. 213 The said resolution was signed on 25 June 1985 by chief Malefo and councillors Nthuteng and Mongo and certified by HCMZ Sidzumo on behalf of the Administrator of Molopo. 'On 4 August 1986 Verster of the SA Embassy requested the Secretary for Bophuthatswana Foreign Affairs to inform the tribal authority to include Portion 1 of the farm Fairview in its resolution. 214 The rectified Tribal Resolution which accepted a portion of Trumpeter's Post and Portion 1 of Fairview as compensatory land was sent to the SA Embassy on 28 November 1986.
On 26 October 1987 Mentz from the Development Aid-Land division, Pretoria, held a meeting at Tsetse with the tribe. 215 He informed the tribe that the land could only be theirs if they had a title deed. The meeting could not continue as the chief had died. The chief and two councillors
210 Ibid. 211 Ibid. 212 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2(135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 213 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/2(133) Part 1: Institution; Composition; Jurisdiction; Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 214 Ibid. 215 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/13(135) Part 1: Tribal Administration: Land Affairs, 1986. 47
•
were to sign the agreement. As no one was prepared to sign in the- , . place of the chief, it was agreed to postpone the meeting.
On 14 July 1988 the Ambassador of South . Africa was informed that a rightful chief had been appointed. It was only on 2 January 1991 that., Foreign Affairs, Bophuthatswana, was informed that Portion 1 O. Fairview, size 856, 5320 hectares and Portion 27 of the farm • Ramatlabama, size 1082, 6257 hectares, were being transferred and registered in the name of the President of Bophuthatswana to be held in trust for the Bakwena. 216 In terms of Deed of Transfer no. T140 of 1992 Portion 1 of Fairview and Portion 27 of the farm Ramatlabama 377 were transferred and registered in the name of the President of Bophuthatswana to keep in trust for the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane on 27 March 1992. In terms of this deed, this was to be compensation for similar agricultural and grazing land held by the Bakwena at Doornkop. 217 This official registration took place fourteen years after the tribe had been moved from Doornkop.
The problem of land regarding Portion 27 of Ramatlabama had not yet been resolved as the Bafokeng Ba Ga Magokgwana were utilising the farm. The Batloung Ba Ga Shole, Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane and Bafokeng Ba Ga Magokgwana tribes had been resettled by SA authorities on compensatory land in the Ramatlabama area. As these tribes had legitimate claims to the land, some of the farms had already been transferred into the names of the tribes or individual members. According to the Secretary of the President, the Administrator of Molopo was to arrange meetings with the tribes where they would consider filing their claims with the Commission on Land Claims set up by the SA Government.
216 • Ibid. 217 Deed of Transfer Registration no. T140, 1992. 48
By 20 April 1994 compensatory land had not yet been transferred to th .ey Bakwena. The Director of Traditional Affairs then requested the Department of Regional Affairs, Pretoria, tol provide him with the - list of the names of shareholders and or original buyers of the farm Doornkop and copies of any documents relating to agreements entered into about, the resettlement of the tribe. The director arranged a meeting with tribesmen for 25 June 1994.
During negotiations for the transfer and registration of compensatory land in the name of the tribe, the matter became complicated as the chief demanded Portion 4 of Fairview which was also claimed by private owners who had jointly bought Portion 1 (c) no. 156 and Portion 5 (of 3) of the farm Doornkop in the Ventersdorp district.
4.2.2 Compensatory Land: Portion 4 of Fairview
Stephanus, Petrus, Odnight, Johannes and Philemon Matsapola, Kleinbooi Rantsi and Jacob Motloioa who held title deed in undivided shares demanded the transfer of Portion 4 of Fairview. 218 Ten years had passed (1979-1989) and compensatory land had not yet been transferred to them.
The Department of Development Aid had confused the issue of Portion 1 and Portion 4 of Fairview when the Bophuthatswana Department of Foreign Affairs was informed on 2 January 1991 that Portion 1 of Fairview and Portion 27 of Ramatlabama were being transferred and registered in the name of the President of Bophuthatswana to be held in trust for the Bakwena. The Secretary of the President's previous correspondence did not refer to Portion 1 of Fairview but Portion 4 which was to be transferred to individual tribesmen. 219 The reply of the
218 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/13 (135) Part 1: Tribal Administration: Land Affairs, 1986. 219 Ibid. 49
Department of Development Aid on 11 October 1991 was that some of.., the previous landowners of the farm Docienkop - had opted for remuneration for their land instead of accepting compensatory land at the farm Fairview. The Department promised to hold a title -deed investigation. 22°
According to information provided by the D'epartment of Regional and Land Affairs on 14 May 1992, Portion 5 (of 3) of the farm Doornkop 156 belonged to and was later (1979) expropriated from a certain S Matsapola and others (vide title 301/78). This Department needed assistance to identify the other shareholders. The shareholders of Portion 1 (of c) were identified as Adeline Malefo, Johannes, Philemon 221 and Odnight Matsapola. In terms of Deed of Transfer no. 2349 of 1940, Portion 1 (c ) of the farm Doornkop 156 was bought by Stephanus, Johannes, Philemon, Odnight and Petrus Matsapola, Jacob Motlhoioa and Kleinbooi Rantsi at £580 from Petrus Johannes van der Merwe, born 5 November 1896, and Engela Susana du Plessis, born van der Merwe in March 1900. 222
The Secretary of the President sent two affidavits and a copy of the Deed of Transfer no. 2349 of 1940 to the Director of Land Administration, Bophuthatswana, on 13 July 1992. The affidavit marked A identified Johannes, Philemon, Odnight and Petrus Matsapola, Jacob Motlhoioa and Kleinbooi Rantsi as the patrilineal offspring of Stephanus Matsapola, who jointly bought Portion 1 (c) no. 156 of the farm Doornkop in the Ventersdorp district. It also identified the successors to the title deed. The inheritance and succession to the title only concerned Portion 1 (c) of Doornkop 156. The deponents requested the Department of
220 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/13(135) Part 1: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 221 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/13(135) Part 1: Tribal Administration: Land Affairs, 1986. 222 Ibid. 50
Regional and Land Affairs to transfer Portion 4 of the farm Fairview, 223 • 114.
In terms of the affidavit marked B, Stephanus, Johannes, Philemon and Odnight Matsapola and Adeline Malefo (n66 Matsapola) declared that,, Portion 5 (of 3) of the farm Doornkop 156 was their private property. The inheritance and succession to the title of 'the farm was restricted to Stephanus Matsapola and his three sons Philemon, Johannes and Odnight Matsapola to the exclusion of their only sister Adeline Malefo (nee Matsapola). Johannes Phaphedi Matsapola, Lazarus Nteke Matsapola and Philemon Legadima Matsapola were indicated as heirs and successors to Portion 5 (of 3) of the farm Doornkop 1256. The heirs claimed compensatory land for the one which was expropriated in 1978.224 The Department of Land Affairs, Pretoria, was requested to transfer Portion 4 of Fairview to the rightful heirs. 225
Between 13 June 1992 and 5 October 1995 there was 'correspondence between the Secretary of the President/Traditional Authority Affairs and the Department of Land Affairs in Pretoria regarding the delayed transfer of Portion 4 to private owners. The reply from Land Affairs on 10 November 1995 was that the transfer of Portion 4 was being held in abeyance. There was a need to determine whether the beneficiaries still wanted the land to be transferred into their names or whether they also wanted to return to their original land at Doornkop like the rest of the people who were resettled at Doornkop. Land Affairs indicated that the decision was taken after a claim for restitution had been received for Doornkop 156. 226
223 Ibid. 224 Ibid. 225 Ibid. 226 Ibid. 51
The Department wanted to know what the decision of the beneficiarie was concerning the matter. The tribe's reply of 20 December 1995 was that they did not institute any claim to reclaim their original land at Doornkop. They still awaited the title deed of the land they -.were occupying. The tribe requested a meeting with representatives from the,, Department of Land Affairs not later than 15:January 1996 to finalise thq. matter. 227 The scheduled meeting did not iake place on the said date but on 16 February 1996. At this meeting the tribe made it clear that they did not want to return to Doornkop and demanded their title deed.
The chief and councillors then wrote a letter to Traditional Affairs in the North West province requesting additional land. They stated that the previous SA Government had promised them Portion 4 of Fairview which was still unknown to them. They demanded Portion 4 for agricultural purposes and the title deed they had been waiting for since 1978. 228 This complicated the matter as there were now two parties claiming Portion 4, the tribe and private owners. On 16 August 1996 the Department of Land Affairs requested a meeting with chief Malefo. The chief was to provide copies of agreements, if possible, made between the previous government and the tribe. The proposed meeting was to be held on 24 October 1996.
A visit to Tsetse on 30 April 1997 revealed that Portion 4 of Fairview has not yet been transferred to either the tribe or private owners. According to information provided by councillors Michael Dladla, Isaac Tsobane, David Rabotho, SL Rapoo and Lucas Nthuteng, officials from Land Affairs never turned up on 24 October 1996 and no apology was forwarded to the chief.
227 • Ibid. 228 Ibid. 52
4.3 LACK OF ENTERPRISING FARMERS
Resettlement affected the ability of some of the tribesmen as farfners, though the Bakwena had never proved themselves to be hardworking at Doornkop. This became evident after they resettled at Tsetse.. In a' report on -Tsetse compiled by mr A. Moeketsi for the President Cif, Bophuthatswana, the non-utilisation of arable . land was identified. 229- This is confirmed by information gathered from the financial records of the tribe. From 1982 to 1990 no budget was drawn up for agriculture due to insufficient income for the tribe. 230 The fact that by 1982 the tribe was not yet ploughing is another indication that arable land was not utilised. 231 In his second annual report on Tsetse dated, 5 July 1990, mr Moeketsi identified a number of problems such as small-scale crop farming. This view is confirmed by one of the peasant farmers in the area. The peasant farmer pointed out that most of the plots were lying fallow. People who were allocated plots refused to release them to the tribal authority so as to be used by those active in farming. Only a few agreed to sharecropping with those who wanted to use their plots. This is what forced the peasant farmers into sharecropping. 232 This view was confirmed by mr. Moseje, Extension Officer- Crop Production, of the District Office of, Agricor, Molopo. He stated that the Bakwena of Tsetse were not active in agriculture. Their land was not fully and economically utilised. A tour of the agricultural land with the son of the peasant farmer confirmed these viewpoints. Tracks of land were seen lying fallow. The report of mr Moeketsi of 5 July 1990 also emphasised that more attention was to be given to agriculture and that the chief needed assistance in this regard. Mr Moseje also indicated that the farmers needed implements. Furthermore, he indicated that applications for
229 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2(135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 230 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/3(135) Part 1: Financial Matters: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 231 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/2(135) Part 1: Institution; Composition; Jurisdiction: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 232 Interview with informant No. 7, 12/5/1995. 53
loans were not approved because the people could not repay their loans.... a Hence mr Moeketsi's report that there were no- prospects for improvement in agriculture. 233 Though the peasant farmers cited a.lack of tractors and other implements as a problem, there is proof that they never possessed them at Doornkop. They could have come to Tsetse with their tractors. They could have also used the experience they: accumulated in farming at Tsetse. These are indicators that the ' Bakwena had never been enterprising farmers.
Information gathered from "Crop Estimates-Ramatlabama, 1989-1990" indicates that there are only three active peasant farmers in Tsetse. 234 These peasant farmers did not all utilise the fifty hectares of land allocated to them. The first farmer used 24 hectare of land. His maize crop estimate was 0.4 tons, but actual tons produced was 9.6 and his sunflower crop estimate was 0.3, tons, while actual tons produced was 15 tons. The second farmer used 8 hectares and produced, 6.4 tons of sunflower. He used 6 hectares for maize crop production. Crop estimate was 0.9 but actual tons produced were 10.8. The third farmer used 21 hectares for sunflower production. His crop estimate was 0.4 tons and actual tons produced 8.4. 235 According to mr Moseje the peasant farmers have not been utilising their land since 1991. White farmers have been using Tsetse for crop production as sharecroppers. In 1995 there was no crop production as there were no fences around agricultural lands. They were destroyed by Tsetse people. Theft of agricultural produce also discouraged white farmers from using plots in Tsetse.
233 Department of the President, File No. 6/4/2 13 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 234 Crop Estimates - Ramatlabama- 1989 - 1990. According to mr Moseje there are no records for the period 1982 - 1988 as he only started working in the Ramatlabama area since 1989. 235 Ibid. 54
•
The. plight of the peasant farmers has been yvo.r.sened by the lack of water. According to the evidence of Lucas Mokgosi to the M.A. Moeketsi Commission of Inquiry, in 1986 Tsetse had. eight to nine boreholes but the water pumps were broken with only two functioning. The area was sometimes dry with little rain during ploughing seasons. 236 That Tsetse' is having a problem of water is confirmed by a letter received by Acting, chief Malefo in April 1986 from the "comrades" in the area. The - "comrades", who threatened to kill the chief, complained that they were suffering due to lack of water. 237 The annual rainfall records of Ramatlabama for the period 1987 to 1996 also confirmed that Tsetse experienced a problem with water. The rainfall recordings ( page 55) are for Ramatlabama within which Tsetse is situated.(see Figure 1). If an area is said to receive enough rain per annum, it should be between 750mm and 800mm. In Ramatlabama the highest rainfall recorded was in 1988 (590mm) followed by 1996 (January to April) which was 560mm. The lowest rainfall recorded was in 1989 (240mm). 238
Since the arrival of the Bakwena tribe at Tsetse in 1978 most of the farmers possessed cross breeds of Afrikaners, Brahmans and Simmentalers. 239 There is no one specific breed used in the area. The situation is still the same. That is why the report of mr Moeketsi of 5 July 1990 indicated that the chief needed special assistance in the improvement of livestock. 240 According to mr Monoketsi, the Animal
236 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 237 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/14 (135) Part 1: Tribal Administration - Complaints, 1985. 238 Rainfall records in Ramatlabama area based on rainfall charts supplied by Agricor - Statistical Data Centre - 1987-1996. 239 Report on Tsetse Livestock, 26 November 1996. 240 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986.
Rainfall in mm
01 rn O O O O 0 O O O O O O CD O ms
Ga O : By
--L oop
J CO - --L eis sg eog
l CD N) ea K eo
u CO
eil CL)
(1) (D
CD 01
(.0 56
Health Officers for the Ramatlabama area, livestock farmers in Tsetse, can improve their livestock if they want to. The problem - is that .they have no interest in stock farming and are not hard workers. According io mr Monoketsi, they have the ability to produce a'specific breed as they -have gained knowledge as former farm workers at Doornkop. In 1985 the -, tribesmen had 581 cattle, 425 sheep, 628 :goats, 24 horses and 208 1.: dogs.241 As at Doornkop the Tsetse farmers use communal land for grazing with few farmers supplementing with concentrates and licks during winter and drought. When the whole of the Ramatlabama area was affected by drought between 1992 - 1994 there was an increased death of livestock. 242 This is confirmed by one of the peasant farmers who complained that their cattle were dying because of drought. 243
The farmers in Tsetse highlighted a number of problems and complaints. They reported a number of stock-theft incidents to the tribal office and police. According to one of the peasant farmers, stock-theft is one of their major problems. He stated that the police were needed to curb theft. 244 The other peasant farmer stated that stock-theft should be attended to if they are to practice cattle farming. 245 These views are confirmed by the report of mr Moeketsi which pointed out that crime was in the form of theft and that it was left unchecked. 246 According to dr D. Moerane, Deputy Director-Veterinary Section - North West Province, cross-border cattle theft between the North West Province and Botswana was rife during auction times. North West cattle thieves load cattle on to Botswana lorries at the border which are then sold at auctions in the North West. Hence stock theft in Tsetse is a continuous problem which will take time to be solved. 247 The Tsetse farmers also complained about livestock mortalities mostly as a result of diseases
241 Report on Tsetse Livestock, 26 November 1996. 242 Ibid. 243 Interview with Informant No. 2 - 12/5/1995. 244 Ibid. 245 Interview with Informant No. 3 - 12/5/1995. 246 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 57
such as heartwater, internal parasites (worms), blackwater and., gallsickness. 248 This is confirmed by one of the peasant farmers who complained that two of his cattle died of gallsickness in 1994. 2'9, Mr Monoketsi, the Animal Health Officer, pointed out that most of the..cattle die because of negligence by most of the farmers. They are given, courses on preventive measures but fail to apply the knowledge acquired.' Most of the farmers do not even by concentrates and licks for . their cattle. Mr Monoketsi also pointed out that grazing on communal land was also responsible for the spread of diseases, making the veterinary services to fight a losing battle. According to mr Monoketsi, the problem could only be minimised by dividing the grazing land into camps, but the Bakwena were not prepared to spend money on the erection of fences. He said that the tribe wanted the government to do everything for them. Mr Monoketsi also pointed out that most of the people who owned cattle, worked outside the province leaving elderly people to look after their cattle. Complaints about livestock mortalities were reported to the veterinary section which responded by providing extension services and the building of a small veterinary clinic. 250 The Tsetse farmers also complained about camps and water to the Department of Agriculture. 251 In terms of an annual report on chiefs dated 31 August 1989 and compiled by mr Moeketsi, the chief and tribe were expected to promote conservation of water supplies and the erection and maintenance of fences, 252 but Tsetse does not receive enough rain, which makes water conservation problematic. In terms of the report on "Tsetse livestock", camps were later erected and the Department of Agriculture attended to the water problem.
247 Report on Tsetse Livestock, 26 November 1996. 248 Ibid. 249 Interview with Informant No. 2 - 12/5/1995. 250 Report on Tsetse Livestock, 26 November 1996. 251 Ibid. 252 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/3 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 58
According to Mr Rasweswe of Agricor-Planning Section, the soil • • Tsetse is not good for crop production. He pointed out that Portion .1 of Fairview, on which Tsetse is situated consists of about five types of The types of soil according to Rasweswe are as follows:
M1 = Acardia, Rensburg and Bonheim. This is turf soil which is not good for crop production. The size of Portion 1 of Fairview is 856, 53320 hectares and this type of soil occurs on 706, 53320 hectares of the farm. This type of soil is thus dominant in Tsetse.
L1 = Valsrivier and Glenrose. This soil has more lime and rocks. It occurs on about seventy hectares of Tsetse and is also not good for crop production.
H3 and H4 = Hutton. It occurs on a very small scale and is only 80 hectares of the total size of the farm. It is good for crop production. According to Rasweswe, houses have been built on areas consisting of this type of soil.
Thus the dominant type of soil, which is not good for crop production, and the low rainfall in the area have made it difficult for the Bakwena to produce crops. The people who previously lived in the area used it for grazing.
4.4 LACK OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
There were no employment opportunities at Doornkop as the Bakwena were not commercial farmers who created job opportunities for their community. According to mr Pieter van der Merwe, chairperson of the Ventersdorp District Agricultural Union, who bought the farm Goedgevonden in 1968 which lies next to Doornkop, commercial farming 59
was out of the question as Doornkop was divided into plots. 253 The majority of the Bakwena were not even involved in small scale farming and had to look for employment elsewhere. According to mr IC.;lark Hattingh, a commercial farmer on the farm Polka, which also lies next to Doornkop, some of the people worked for neighbouring white farmers, others worked in towns and the rest loitered on the farm Doornkop. 254
At Tsetse the tribal authority created few employment opportunities for the community. The tribal authority has employed two tribal policemen, an office cleaner, a tribal secretary, an engine pump attendant, a messenger of the tribal court and a tribal ranger. 255 The three peasant farmers have employed about two permanent workers each, a tractor driver and a reliever. The peasant farmers also employed between twelve and thirty temporary workers at harvesting time. 256 Shop owners have not created employment opportunities as they are helped by members of their families. In terms of the report compiled by mr Moeketsi, dated 5 July 1990, unemployment in Tsetse was rife as there were no mines and industries in Tsetse, most people were working outside Bophuthatswana. 257
Tsetse is about 12 kilometres from Mafikeng and Mmbatho, which had been the hub of economic activity in the Molopo region. The economic development of the Molopo region depended to a large extent on the commitment of local business. The two towns were affected by economic decline. Several businesses in the two towns, which have existed for decades, have been forced to close down. A number of investors, also intend selling their business due to lack of support. 258
253 Interview with mr P van der Merwe - Chairperson - RAU,6/3/1996. 254 Interview with mr Mark Hattingh, Farmer, 15/8/1996. 255 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/3 (135) Part 1: Financial Matters, Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane 1982. 256 Interview with Informant No. 7 - 12/5/1995. 257 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane. 258 The Sowetan, September 3, 1996, p. 11. 60
There was also a decline in the property market. Many properties were,, empty because their owners could no longer afford to- pay their bonds. The economic development of the Molopo region has been hirgely dependent on public servants, with the • government as the main employer. Restructuring of the public service has led to a number of, transfers to other parts of the country, resultirig in the rapidly declining economy in Mmabatho. 259 The large exodug of businessmen resulted in.' an escalation of unemployment, poverty and crime. 260 Lack of employment opportunities in the North West Province has also been highlighted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Statistics supplied by the Bank indicate that in 1990, out of population of 1829 per 1000, the economically active population was 636 in number, with an annual average increase of 1.6 in unemployment. 261 This implies that in Bophuthatswana in 1990 most of the people were economically inactive due to a lack of employment opportunities. Furthermore, agriculture contributed 5.8% to Gross Geographical Product, manufacturing 7.1% and services 18.3%. 262 The economy of the Province is thus weak, affecting also the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane.
4.5 LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD
Resettlement has contributed to the even worse conditions experienced by the Bakwena tribe at Tsetse. Resettlement should either improve the economic position of the victims of resettlement or enable them to maintain their previous economic position. In the case of the Bakwena their economic position became even worse, affecting their means of making a living. At Doornkop the tribe had never been a prosperous farming community as already pointed out in the previous chapter, they
259 Ibid. 260 ibid. 261 Development Bank of Southern Africa, Southern Africa in context, 1990. 262 Ibid. 61
had been bogged down by problems such as a lack of water and dam.sa and soil erosion. As their economic position ' ■:,c.fs weak, they had to make a living by working for neighbouring white farmers and in towns. Their conditions in Tsetse were even worse. Even if they would., have been allocated farms, their chances of providing for their livelihood were remote. In the second annual report of mi. ' Moeketsi on Tsetse, it wag . highlighted that there were no prospects of improvement in agriculture. 263 Arable land was not utilised and pastoral and crop farming were done on a very small scale. There were complaints by the chief and councillors about a lack of funds to buy farming implements. Lack of implements combined with little rain during ploughing seasons resulted in small crops being produced, making it difficult for the people to be self-supportive. 264 The people who worked in the tribal office have always been lowly paid. Between 1984 and 1990 the salary of one tribal policemen increased from R40 to R92.50 per month. Between 1985 and 1990 that of the office cleaner rose from R30 to R80 per month. Between 1986 and 1990 the salary of the tribal secretary rose from R105 to R145 per month. In 1986 and 1987 the messenger of the tribal court earned R80 per month and was dismissed. Between 1982 and 1990 the tribal ranger's salary increased from R12 to R82.50 per month. For the same period the allowance of the chief increased from R360 to R1 440 per annum. The seven tribal councillors were given an allowance as from 1987. Their monthly allowance from 1987 to 1990 remained static at R10 per councillor per month. 265
263 Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 264 Ibid. 265 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/3 (135) Part 1: Financial Matters, Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 62
4.6 A STATE OF DESPONDENCY
Resettlement has created a serious state of, despondency among 'the Bakwena. This is a terrible state in which people lose hope in life arid in their ability to be creative. They are reduced, to a state where they feel they can do- nothing to improve their lot. This has beeri the effect of resettlement, as indicated by this study, •ory: . the tribe at Tsetse. According to information provided by the tribal clerk, a sewing club was established in 1986 and only lasted until 1987 because the women involved were discouraged by the absence of a suitable market for their goods. They knitted table cloths and made dresses. Tsetse people did not buy their wares because of poverty and the women failed to think of selling their goods elsewhere. According to this clerk, a self-help scheme was initiated by Agricor in 1992 and also failed. Vegetable gardens were allocated to women to plant and sell their produced spinach, carrots, beetroot, cabbage and beans, but lack of rain discouraged them from continuing with the project. The clerk pointed out that since then, nothing was done by the people to improve their lot. Even though some of the people have been given plots, they are lying fallow because of the poor condition of the soil and poor rainfall. Such conditions have prevented the people from producing their own food, making them to live in despair. Though the Bakwena have proved themselves not to be hardworking, there is little that they can do to improve their standard of living. 266
4.7 CONCLUSION
It is evident that resettlement has affected the Bakwena tribe negatively. Though the tribe was not prosperous at Doornkop, its position in Tsetse
268 Department of the President, File No. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 63
has deteriorated even further. What has affected them the most is that, , •• Tsetse is a dry area which receives little rain. The soil is not good for crop production. Job opportunities in the' Molopo region were; also scarce. Bophuthatswana and now the North West Province, have-been affected by an economic decline which has resulted in an escalation ir- 4 unemployment, poverty and crime. The government has-not undertaker] projects that would bring relief to the tribe. The tribe thus lives in *: poverty. 64
CHAPTER , 5.
5. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE REMOVAL OF THE BAKWENA BA GA MOLOPYANE TO TSETSE
5.1 AN ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF RESETTLEMENT ON THE BAKWENA BA GA MOLOPYANE
The policy of the South African government was to remove millions of blacks out of urban and white agricultural areas. The reason for their removal was to prevent political democracy in a unitary state and to give blacks political rights in their own states. 267 The aim was to ensure that white power was preserved in South Africa. The 1960's and 1970's were decades of mass removals in South Africa.
The Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane were also affected by government policy, although their experience with resettlement started in 1931. The tribe had to leave the farm Uitkyk in 1931 as it was land held by the Wesleyan Methodist Society which was conducting missionary work among natives who occupied that land.
The resettlement of the Bakwena tribe at Doornkop in 1935 did not change their economic position which was similar to that of Uitkyk. They never owned farms at Doornkop and Uitkyk but only plots. This ruled out the possibility of them being commercial farmers. At both farms they had a problem with sufficient water. Uitkyk had no river or stream but one small fountain on the boundary which was not sufficient for the
267 Relocations: The Churches Report on forced removals. p. 16. 65
needs of the tribe. 268 There was a small darn. which needed to enlarged but the tribesmen were not willing to help the chief to enlarge it.
The situation at Doornkop was the same as there were no dams and the tribe had to fetch water in buckets far from the Doornkop farm. Crop, production was thus rendered ineffective by:lack of water. The Bakwena were thus not commercial farmers but peasant farmers who practiced subsistence farming which could not produce sufficient food for everybody. They bought vegetables from a neighboring white farmer, a mr Hattingh. 269 At Uitkyk they sometimes had difficulty in producing enough food for themselves. 270 There are indications that not all the tribesmen were involved in subsistence farming at both farms. At Uitkyk only 89 of the married men out of 150 families were involved in farming. 271 Loitering was the order of the day at both farms. The indication is that resettlement did not change the economic position of the tribe. The mere fact that the tribe had only thirty-two ploughs at Uitkyk is an indication of the extent of farming undertaken' by the tribe at Uitkyk. This shows that even at Doornkop they did not have enough ploughs. Conditions were the same, which shows that the tribe has never been prosperous. Stock farming was also out of the question due to lack of water and the fact that the tribesmen were not industrious. Only 96 of the men possessed livestock at Uitkyk and the situation was the same at Doornkop. As the tribesmen could not create job opportunities this forced some of the families to leave Uitkyk and work for white farmers without the knowledge and consent of the chief. Some went to work on the Witwatersrand. At Doornkop some of the people had to make a living by working for neighbouring white farmers and in towns.272 Although the Bakwena have never been prosperous their economic position became even worse when they were resettled in
268 Supreme Court of South Africa. (Transvaal Provincial Division) 1926, p. 166. 269 Interview with mr. M Hattingh, 15 August 1996. 270 Court Record: Supreme Court of South Africa (Transvaal Provincial Division) 1926, p. 167. 271 Ibid., p. 167. 272 Interview with mr. M. Hattingh, 15 August 1996. _66
Tsetse in 1978. Tsetse also has a problem of insufficient water resources. This area does not receive 'enough rain. A look at the records of rainfall between 1987 and 1996 indicate that the highest rainfall recorded in Ramatlabama was 590mm in 1988! 273 If an area is said to receive enough rainfall per annum it should be between 750rniii and 800mm per annum. Between 1992-1994 the whole of tfie Ramatlabama area was affected by drought. 274 This has affected farming in the area. The soil in Tsetse is also not good for crop production, with turf soil occurring on 706,53320 hectares of the farm Fairview (850,53320 hectares) on which Tsetse is situated. Hutton soil, which is good for crop production, occurs on a very small scale and is only 80 hectares of the total size of the farm Fairview. The farmers were also faced with stock theft and livestock mortalities caused by diseases such as heartwater, black water, internal parasites and gall sickness. 275 Livestock mortalities were increased by communal grazing and negligence by the tribesmen. Furthermore most of the.cattle owners are working outside the province, leaving the elderly to look after their cattle. Small scale crop and stock farming have not enabled the tribe to be self- sufficient and self-supportive. Work cannot be created by the community as there are no prospects for improvement in agriculture. 276
Employment opportunities for Tsetse are minimal. The tribal office has only employed seven people with few people working for the only three peasant farmers in the area. Shop owners have not created employment. They are assisted by members of their families. The economics of Mafikeng and Mmabatho, which are about 12 kilometres
273 Rainfall records of Ramatlabama area based on rainfall charts supplied by Agricor - Statistical Date Centre - 1987 - 1996. 274 Report on Tsetse livestock Veterinary Section - North West Province 26 November 1996. 275 Ibid. 276 Department of the President File No. 6/4/2/13 (135) part 2: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986. 67
from Tsetse, are declining due to the closure of businesses and transfe ir of public servants to other parts of the country as a result :of the restructuring of the public services. 277 Economic development of the two towns has been largely dependent on public servants. In terms of statistics supplied by the Development Bank of Southern Africa most of the people in Bophuthatswana in 1990 were economically inactive due to lack of employment opportunities. These factors have severely affected the economic position of the tribe, making it to face a very bleak future. Hence their living standard is declining. The people who work in the tribal office earn between R80 and R145 per month. The monthly allowance of the chief is R120 and that of the seven tribal councillors is R10 each. 278 The untenable situation in which the tribe finds itself, due to resettlement, has created a serious state of despondency among the Bakwena. The tribe lives in poverty and despair and there is nothing that they can do to improve their standard of living.
The unacceptable conditions in Tsetse, caused by resettlement, can only be summarised by quoting a resident and councillor of Tsetse: "Poverty is prevailing in this area and the elderly people live on pension. We are leading an impoverished life and are unhappy. Our children roam the village with no prospects of employment. We were forced to live in this area against our will". 279
277 The Sowetan, September 3, 1996. 278 Department of the President, File no. 6/1/3 (135) Part 1: Financial Matters: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 279 Interviews with resident and tribal councillor, 12 May 1995. 68
5.2 CONCLUDING REMARKS
This study reveals that in most cases, as in the case of the Bakwena, resettlement in South Africa has not benefited the resettled community. Resettlement has been found not to improve the economic position a the affected people as to enable them ; to maintain their previous economic position. It has resulted in a Weakened economic position. because of the areas in which they are resettled. As in the case of the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, there are many cases of people who have been relocated to homelands where there were no facilities and provisions made for water, housing, sanitation and employment. Examples would be that of the Makuleke tribe uprooted from the northern reaches of the Kruger National Park and settled at Ntlaveni, 28° blacks who were settled at Limehil1, 281 the Batlhaping tribe under chief 282 Mosala who were removed from Majaneng and the Mfengu who were removed from Humansdorp to Elukhanyeni in the Ciskei. 283 Resettlement has caused hardship for the Bakwena because the government has failed to provide financial and technical assistance in the critical period of transition. The Bakwena, like in most cases of forced removals, have been left to provide for themselves though their plight is known to the government. Furthermore, it should be noted that not all the tribesmen are interested in farming. Farms should have been allocated to those who have the interest in and knowledge of farming, with sustained financial and technical backing from the government. Such farmers would be in a position to create employment and other related industries. The allocation of plots did not benefit the tribe.
The position of the tribe would not have been better even if the previous administrations of Bophuthatswana had stayed in Mafikeng and Mmbatho, because the majority of the people were unemployed.
280 Eddie Kock: Lions in the heartland, p. 103. 281 C. Desmond: The discarded peoole, p. 29. 282 A. Hansen and A. Oliver - Smith: Involuntary migration, p. 152. 283 Relocations: The Churches Report on forced removals, p. 8. 69
The political changes in 1994 also contributed to the plight of the tribe businessmen who had the previous regime as shareholders in almost every business in the towns intended selling their businesses. ' They feared that blacks would take over their business.
The tribesman are also not certain about their future at Tsetse becausd compensatory land had not yet been transferred and registered in the name of the tribe by 30 April 1997. The Department of Land Affairs has been silent over the question of compensatory land.
The views of the tribesmen concerning their stay at Uitkyk/Doornkop and Tsetse differ with those of Mark Hattingh, a commercial farmer at Ventersdorp, and Pieter van der Merwe, the chairperson of the Ventersdorp district agricultural union. The tribesmen claimed that life at Uitkyk/Doornkop was good and that they were economically independent as compared to life in Tsetse which is dry with insufficient rain and where they are experiencing hardships. 284 They gave an impression that they had been prosperous commercial farmers at Uitkyk and Doornkop, 285 whereas that does not seem to be the case. This is in contrast with the views of Hattingh and Van der Merwe who claimed that the tribesmen 286 were not commercial farmers as they owned only small plots and were even unable to create job opportunities for themselves. 287 Research has also revealed that the tribesmen only had thirty-two ploughs which had to be lent to those who had none and that at times they had difficulties in 288 producing enough food for their own needs. Reality is that their economic position became even worse after being resettled at Tsetse in 1978.
284 Informant no. 1 - 12/5/1995. 285 Informant no.4 - 12/5/1995. 286 Interview with P. van der Merwe, 15/8/1996. 287 Interview with M. Hattingh, 15/8/1996. 288 Court Record, p.167.
70
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. PRIMARY RESEARCH
1.1 State Archives, Pretoria
Office of the Governor-General, File no. 50/1401 : Minutes, 23 March 1931.
U.R.U. Ref. no. 828: Uitvoerende Raad Minute, 1422-1485, 1926.
Deed of Transfer, no. 1072 Register no. 183-190, Folio no. 184/1, 12 November 1975.
Deed of Transfer no. 1452, Register no. 155-182, Folio 166/3/1, 4 February 1936.
1.2 North-West Province
Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/13 (135) Part 1 : Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986.
Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/13 (135) Part 1: Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 4 October 1990.
Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/13 (135) Part 1: Tribal Administration : Land Affairs, 1986.
Department of the President, File no. 6/1/2 (135) Part 1 : Institution; Composition; Jurisdiction : Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1982. 71
Department of the President, File no. 6/1/3 (135) Part 1 : Part 1 : Financial matters Bakwena Ba Ga Molopya;ne, 1982.
Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/10 (135) Part 1 : Tribal Administration-General, 1982.
Department of the President, File no. 6/1/4/14 (1 . 35) Part 1 : Tribal Administration-Complaints, 1985.
Department of the President, File no. 6/4/2 (135) Part 2 : Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane, 1986.
Deed of Transfer, Register no. 7140, 1992.
1.3 OFFICIAL RECORDS
Court Record, Supreme Court of South Africa (Transvaal Provincial Division) 1926.
Crop Estimates - Ramatlabama, 1989-1990. Supplied by Agricor.
Rainfail Records in Ramatlabama area based on rainfall charts supplied by Agricor-Statistical Data Centre, 1987-1996.
Report on Livestock of Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane : Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs : Vet Section - North West Province, 26 November 1996. 72
NEWSPAPERS
City Press, May 26, 1996. Mail and Guardian, December 1-7, 1995. The Sowetan, September 3,1996.
SECONDARY SOURCES
Beinart, W., : Twentieth Century South Africa. Oxford University Press, Cape Town, 1994.
Breutz, P.L., : Die stamme van die distrik Ventersdorp. Die Staatsdrukker, Pretoria, 1954.
Cell, J.W., : The highest stage of white supremacy: The origin of segregation in South Africa and the American South. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982.
Cernea, M.M. & Guggenhein, S.E., : Anthropological approaches to resettlement: Policy, practice and theory. Westview Press, Oxford, 1993.
Cernea, M.M., : Involuntary resettlement in development proiects. The World Bank. Washington, D.C., 1988.
Demarest, A.J., : Resettlement. New Voices Publishing Company, New York, 1970.
Desmond, C., : The discarded people: An account of African resettlement. The Christian Institute of South Africa, Braamfontein, 1969. 73
Development Bank of Southern Africa : Southern Africa in Context, 1990.
Forced removals in South Africa: The S.P.P. Reports Vol. 1 - General overview. The Surplus People Project, Cape. Town, 1983.
Forced removals in South Africa: The Reports Vol. 3. The Western and Northern Cape and O.F.S. The Surplus People Project, Cape Town, 1983.
Hansen, A. & Oliver-Smith A., (eds): Involuntary migration and resettlement: The problems and responses of dislocated people. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1982.
Oakes, D., : Illustrated History of South Africa. The Reader's Digest Association Ltd., Cape Town, 1992.
Platzky, L., : Relocation and poverty: Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty and Development in Southern Africa. Cape Town, 13 - 15 April 1984.
Relocations: The Churches' report on forced removals. : The S.A. Council of Churches and the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, Johannesburg, 1984.
Saunders, C., : The making of the South African past. : David Phillips, Claremont, Cape Town, 1988.
Saunders, C., : Writing history: South Africa's urban past and other essays. H.S. R.C. Publishers, Pretoria, 1992. 74
Schoenberg, A.W., : Germans from the east: A study of their migration;` resettlement and subsequent group history 1945-1961. University Micro- films International, Baltimore, Maryland, 1968.
Smith, K.W., : The changing past: Trends in South African historical * 4 writing. : Southern Book Publishers, Johannesburg, 1988.
Unterhalter, Elaine, : Forced removal: The division, segregation and control of the people of South Africa. IDAF Publication Ltd., London, 1987.
Van Jaarsveld, F.A., : Omstrede Suid-Afrikaanse Verlede. Perskor, Johannesburg, 1984.
Van Jaarsveld, F.A., : The Afrikaner's interpretation of South African history. Simondium, Cape Town, 1964.
4. PERIODICALS
Time, July 25, 1994.
Bank, L.,: No place to rest: Forced removals and the law in S.A. Murray, C & O'Reagan, C. Book review. Journal of contemporary African studies 10(2), 1991.
Basson, D., : Die stryd om grond: Grond het oor eeue heen emosie wakker gemaak. Finansies en Tegniek, 45(11), 11 June 1992.
De Wet, C., : Betterment planning in South Africa. Some thoughts on its history, feasibility and wider policy implications. Journal of contemporary African studies, 6(1/2), April/October 1987. 75
Fair, T.J.D., The surplus people: Forced removals in South Africa. Platzky, L. & Walker, C. Book review. Journal of contemporary African •• • studies, 6(1), April 1985.
Kock, E., : Lions in the heartland. Leadership S.A., 13(3), 1994.
Niehaus, I.A., : Relocation into Phuthaditjhabaand Tseki: A comparative ethnography of planned removals. African studies, 48(2), 1989.
Venter, S., : No turning back. Leadership S.A., 10(1), February 1991. 76.
ADDEMDUM A
INFORMANT NO. 1 (Resident and tribal councillor), 12 May 1995
Q: Where were you born? A: I was born on the farm Uitkyk in 1927.
Q: How many tribes lived on the farm Uitkyk? A: There were four tribes - the largest being Bakwena Ba Molotswane.
There were also the Magasoute - who were Afrikaans speaking, the Ba - Nakedi and the Malekutus. The Bakwena tribe found the Nakedis' in the area in 1876.
Q: When and why did you : leave Uitkyk? A: We were driven out by the London Missionary Society. After the Anglo-Boer War the missionaries demanded rent from the Bakwena tribe. The tribe refused to pay rent as they had bought the farm from a Mrs Woihuter through Rev. Creswell at £800. The ministers claimed that the farm belonged to the London Missionary Society. The matter was referred to court and we subsequently lost the case. We had no title deed to proof ownership of the farm. The title deed had been taken by the missionaries from the chief under the pretext of keeping it safe for the tribe. They stated that the title deed might be destroyed by fire as our houses had thatched roofs. The Bakwena left the farm in January 1931 but those who were willing to pay rent were left behind. -77
Q: To which area did they move after leaving Uitkyk? A: They were temporarily accommodated by a certain white farmer on the farm Watershoek. They later bought the farm Doornkop which became known as ou Tsetse..
Q: What was your economic position of Uitkyk and ou Tsetse? A: Uitkyk and ou Tsetse were lands of plenty.
We were economically independent. We had good crops and livestock. Our cattle were reduced by the long legal battle for the farm Uitkyk. Uitkyk was an agricultural area where we raised cattle, sheep and goats. We planted maize, sorghum, beans and vegetables. The people had built dams to supply our livestock and people with water. We also had good rains. There was no need for us to work for the neighbouring white farmers. Our young men worked in white towns.
Q: When and why did you leave ou Tsetse? A: Ou Tsetse was declared a black spot by the old apartheid government. The Bakwena were forced to move out in 1978.
Q: Who chose new Tsetse for you? A: Before leaving ou Tsetse the Bakwena were sent to various areas in Bophuthatswana to choose a suitable area. They went to areas as far as Rustenburg. 78
They finally decided to settle in the new Tsetse which was better than the other areas. The other areas were mountaneous. •
Q: Were you given farms when you arrived here? A: People were given plots to farm and their size is 50 x 50 feet. • But not all the villagers were given plots. Half have plots and the rest do not. Those who arrived first were given plots. But the people are not farming because of drought. There is no rain in this area. There are no dams and people do not irrigate their strips of field. People do not have tractors and farming implements.
Q: How many people are farming? A: There are only 3 farmers.
Q: Are there cattle farmers? A: There are no cattle farmers.
There are few people owing cattle which are sold to villagers. We do not have people who farm with large herds of cattle like whites.
Q: Do the farmers get assistance from the government? A: The Agricultural corporation initially assisted some of the farmers.
They were given financial assistance but this assistance was minimal. Drought discouraged Agricor from continuing with the assistance. The corporation helped us to start small vegetable gardens. 79
Q: What is the economic position of the people? :A: Poverty is preVailing in this area.
The elderly people live on their pension. There are no employment opportunities in this area. As a result the unemployment rate is very high. . . Those who are fortunate to part-time jobs, Some of our people work in Mafikeng and Mmabatho as night watchmen, soldiers and domestic workers. We do not have farmers who could help in employing more of our people. There are only six business concerns in our area employing none of the people. The shopkeepers work with their children. Their business is not good because people cannot afford to buy. People buy in town where prices are low. Those who work in the village are two tribal policemen and two clerks and teachers. We are leading an impoverished life and are unhappy. Our children roam the village with no prospects of employment. Uitkyk was the best area while Tsetse is a dry area. Uitkyk was not far from industrial areas while in this area there are no factories. We were forced to live in this area against our will. 80
•••••• ADDEMOUM B
INFORMANT NO. 2 (Peasant farmers) May 1995
Q: Where were you born? A: I was born in Potchefstroom and decided with my husband to move to ou' Tsetse.
We had bought land in ou Tsetse.
Q: What was your economic position at ou Tsetse? A: We ere involved in farming while some of the people earned a living by working in towns.
Q: When and why did you leave ou Tsetse? A: We left the area in 1978 when we were forced to move out by the government.
Q: Who chose new Tsetse for you? A: The place was chosen by our people.
Q: Were you given farms when you arrived here? A: People were given small plots of about 50 x 50 feet.
It was only half of the villagers who were given plots because the land was too small.
Q: When did you start farming. A: In 1984.
As we were not given a plot I took over plots of people who were not farming so as to have a bigger area to work. 81-
After harvesting I share my crop with the owners of the plots. For example, when I have harvested 8 bags of maize, I give a bag to the owner of the plot.
Q: Is this area suitable for farming? A: The soil is hot so bad though it is clay soil.
But it is not suitable for planting maize because of lack of rain. Sunflower is able to grow even if there is little rain.
Q: What plants do you grow? A: Initially I was planting maize and sunflowers.
I planted maize from 1984 to 1990 and then concentrated on sunflowers. As I pointed out maize was no longer suitable due to lack of rain.
Q: Are there dams at your fields? A: No. We depend on rain.
Q: Are there cattle farmers? A: Most of the people have few cattle.
Cattle farming is not practiced in this area due to lack of rain. Our cattle are dying because of drought. In 1994 two of my cattle died of "droog gal". I worked to become a cattle farmer but my hopes were dashed by lack of water. As we have few cattle we sell nothing to the abattoir. We only sell them to the villagers when there are weddings or funerals. There are no villagers making business out of cattle farming. ,82
Q: Do you have grazing fields? A: Yes, but the land is small.
Q: What do you do with your sunflower after harvesting? A: I sell it to the produce corporation.
• When there are no rains as in this year it is not good and I make cattle feed.
Q: How many farm workers do you have? A: I have employed 3 permanent workers who receive a monthly salary.
At present there are 20 part-time workers who are harvesting. I pay them R30.00 per week
Q: How many people are farming? A: We are only 3.
Q: Why 3 when people were given plots? A; The people do not farm because of lack of water, tractors and other farming implements.
Q: Do you get assistance from the government? A: When I started farming in 1984, I did not need assistance.
But in 1987 I approached the Agricultural Corporation for assistance. I got a loan of R54 000. I used the money for buying a tractor, seed, repairs and salaries of workers. 83
Q: What do you need in order to become a progressive farmer? :A: We need dams, water and irrigation schemeS and only the governMent can assist in this regard.
This is what makes neighbouring white farmers to be progressive, and -prosperous. I always visit them to get advice. But I cannot put their ideas into practice because of the problems we are experiencing. The windmills are broken and nothing is done to repair them except empty promises. When I started farming we used to grow vegetables but lack of rain hampered us. Potatoes can be a good crop in this area. Policemen are also needed to curb theft. Theft is one of our major problems. People steal cattle and our produce. They cut fences and as a result cattle destroy our crops. We are forced to guard our fields until harvesting time. If theft was not rife maybe more people could become involved in farming and this could create more jobs for the people. Without assistance from the government our future as farme .rs look bleak. 84
ADDEMDUM C
INFORMANT NO. 3 (peasant farmer) May 1995
Q: Where were you born? A: I was born at ou Tsetse near Ventersdorp.
Q: What was your economic position at ou Tsetse? A: The people were involved in agriculture.
There were crop farmers and cattle farmers. The soil was rich and suitable for plants like maize and sorghum. Milk was sent to white towns. Some of the people earned a living by working in industries at places like Johannesburg. We were not dependent on anyone for a living.
Q: When and why did you leave ou Tsetse? A: We left ou Tsetse in 1978.
The whites moved us from the area by force as Tsetse was proclaimed a black spot.
Q: Who chose new Tsetse for you? A: Our people were sent to various areas in Bophuthatswana to choose the place they wanted.
They settled for this area. 85
Were you given farms when you arrived here? A: No. We were not given farms but small plots where we could grow. whatever we wanted.
The size of our plots is about 50 x 50 feet.
Q: When did you start farming? A: In 1979.
Q: Is this area suitable for farming? A: We have a problem with the soil which is clay.
It is not good for crop-farming. We are merely farming because this land was given to us. If it rains the place becomes slippery. We cannot even use our tractors. We have to wait for the fields to dry up. It its very dry we cannot till it.
Q: What agricultural plants do you grow? A: Only sunflower because the place is not good for maize due to lack of water.
Q: Are there dams at your fields? A: No, there are no dams in the agricultural fields.
We are dependent on rain.
Q: Are there cattle farmers? A: No. The people around here own few cattle, sheep and goats.
There is nobody doing business with cattle. 86
But cattle farming is possible provided there is enough water. This place is very dry. As you can see its dusty and stony. We need machines that can pump water out of the ground. *. We do not even have enough water to use at home. Most of the pumping machines are cirnaged. Stock theft should also be attended to if we are to practice cattle farming. Five of my cattle were stolen and fortunately found by the police at an auction.
Q: Do you have grazing fields? A: Yes, but people have destroyed the fence.
Q: What do you do with your sunflower after harvesting? A: I send it to the agricultural corporation.
With the money I get I pay the corporation for services rendered. With what is left I pay my workers. If I remain with nothing its allright. as long as I have paid my debts.
Q: How many farm workers do you have? A: Only 2 permanently and I have about 12 when harvesting.
I cannot employ more people because I do nct make money out of farming. I could benefit if we had good rains. If the crop is good I get 15 bags and if its bad. about 7 bags.
Q: How many people are farming? A: Only 3. 87
Q: Why 3 when people were given plots? A: They do not have tractors and farming implernents.
Q: Do you get assistance from the government? A: We are only assisted by the Agricultural Corporation.
The corporation helps us with seed, fertilisers and diesel. We pay after harvesting.
Q: What do you need in order to become a progressive farmer? A: I need to borrow money so as to buy seed, fertilisers.
Those without tractors should be helped to buy. If many people can do farming we can be able to hire many farm workers. This will also help in reducing theft and destruction of our crops by children and adults. We are in dire need of irrigation schemes and supply of enough water. At present we are only involved in subsistence farming. 88
ADDEMDUM D
INFORMANT NO. 4 (Resident) May 1995
Q: Where were you born? A: I was born -at Uitkyk in 1924.
Q: When and why did you leave Uitkyk? A: I was still a child and cannot remember the year.
But I was informed that our farm was taken by missionaries. So we had to leave the farm.
Q: To which area did you move after leaving Uitkyk? A: From Uitkyk we moved to Watershoek and then ou Tsetse.
Q: What was your economic position at Uitkyk and ou Tsetse. A: From what I learned at Uitkyk our people were farmers.
They had cattle and sheep. I learned that other people lost their cattle as they had to pay the lawyers who handled our case when we fought to retain our farm which missionaries claimed was theirs. As I grew up at ou Tsetse we also had cattle. The people were milking and sold the milk in Lichtenburg. We planted vegetables, maize, sorghum and sunflower. We had good times and never starved.
Q: When and why did you leave ou Tsetse? A: We left the place in 1978 when we were forced out by whites. 89
Q: Who chose new Tsetse for you? .• A: We were told by the government to go and search for a suitable place to resettle in Bophuthatswana.
I could not accompany the men as my leg was broken. But they settled for new Tsetse
Q: Were you given farms when you arrived here? A: We were given plots of about 50 x 50 feet.
The land was divided into two sections. One for growing plants and the other section for grazing. Few people are farming because of drought. There is no water in this area. People do not have farming implements. At ou Tsetse we had drought animals. All the water pumping machines are broken and nothing is done to repair them. The soil is not good. If there is rain we cannot plant anything as the soil becomes slippery. If its very dry we cannot do anything We cannot plant anything except sunflower.
Q: How many people are farming? A: Only 3 people are farming as the rest cannot afford to.
Q: Are there cattle farmers? A: No, because of the problem of water.
There is no rain. Cattle are dying because of drought. 90
Q: What is the economic position of people. A: Many people are unemployed.
There are no jobs in this area. Young people do not work and only roam about. Though there are people running businesses around here they dol. not employ the villagers. Life is difficult. 91
ADDEMDUM E
INFORMANT NO. 5 (Resident and headman) May 1995
Q: Where were you born? A: I was born an Uitkyk in 1914.
Q: How many tribes lived on the farm Uitkyk. A: There were four tribes namely Batlhalwewa Ba Malekutu, Ba-Nakedi, Magasoute and Bakwena Ba-Molotswane.
When the Bakwena arrived in the area they had a chief and all the tribes accepted their chief as leader.
Q: When and why did you leave Uitkyk? A: The Wesleyen Missionaries had robbed us of our farm.
Our parents had bought Uitkyk form Mrs Wolhuter at £800 and had a title deed. Our parents had made a mistake by giving the title deed to the missionaries. They said Afrikaners might come to Uitkyk and take our title deed or it might be destroyed by fire because our houses had thatched roofs. We went to court and lost the case. The missionaries offered us £800 which was accepted by the Bakwena and rejected by the Ba-Nakedi. The Bakwena left Uitkyk in 1931 and those who were prepared to pay rent demanded by the missionaries remained behind. But they were forced out of the farm in 1968 and removed to Itsoseng near Lichtenburg. 92
Q: To which area did they move after leaving Uitkyk? A: They were given a place to stay by a white farmer at Watershoek.
They then bought the farm Doornkop which became known as ou Tsetse.
Q: What was your economic position at Uitkyk and ou Tsetse? A: I had remained at Uitkyk with my parents.
Life at Uitkyk was good. We were farmers. We planted maize and sorghum and had cattle and sheep. Water was plentiful with gOod rain. We had built ourselves a dam.
Q: When did the remaining tribes move out of Uitkyk? A: We were driven out by the police in 1968.
Some of the people scattered all-over the country and others were taken to Itsoseng near Lichtenburg.
Q: When and why did the Bakwena leave ou Tsetse? A: They left the farm in 1978 when it was proclaimed a black spot.
I joined them from Itsoseng when they moved to new Tsetse.
Q: Were you given farms when you arrived at new Tsetse? A: Yes, but not all the people.
I was one of the people who could not get a plot as I arrived late. There were agricultural fields and grazing lands which were fenced. 93
The size of the plots was 50 x 50 feet.
Q: How many people are farming? A: The soil here is not good for growing plants.
It is clay soil. It is good for cattle. Most of the people are not farming because they do not have tractors. There is a shortage of water and rain is scarce. But when they started they planted maize and sunflower. But maize is not good for this area but sunflower grows well. Presently there are only 3 farmers.
Q: Are there cattle farmers? A: No. Few people own cattle and at the most 10 herds.
They keep their cattle in their yards as people are stealing.
Q: Do the farmers get assistance from the government? A: They are assisted by Agricor.
Q: What is the economic position of the people? A: There are many unemployed people in the village.
All of our children who have completed Std. 10 cannot find employment. The elderly people depend on their pension money. There are only 6 business concerns in this area and the owners do not make good business because of unemployment. They have not employed villagers and work on their own with their children. 94
The only 3 farmers cannot employ more people as farming is ntit profitable. Few of our people work in Mafikeng'and Mmabatho. We lead unhappy lives because of poverty.
At Uitkyk food was plentiful and in this area there is no food but ' , hunger. 95
• .ADDEMDUM F
INFORMANT NO. 6 (former peasant farmer and business woman) May 1995
Q: Where were you born? A: I was born in Ventersdorp in 1943.
My parents then moved to ou Tsetse.
Q: What was your economic position at ou Tsetse? A: Life was good as people made a living out of farming.
We also owned cattle, goats, sheep and chickens. Maize, sorghum, sunflower and vegetables were plenty. There was always food for everybody.
Q: When and why did you leave ou Tsetse? A: We left out Tsetse in 1978.
We did not want to leave the place but we were forced to leave.
Q: Who chose new Tsetse for you? A: Our parents.
Q: Were you given farms when you arrived here? A: People were given plots though not all of them. 96
Q: When did you start farming?
I • • A: My father started farming in 1978.
I took over when he died in 1986 and only stopped farming in 1992.
Q: Is this area suitable for farming? A: Clay soil is not good for crop farming.
This place has lots of weed and rain is not good.
Q: What plants did you grow? A: When my father started farming he only planted sunflower and I also did the same.
Sunflower is the only crop suitable for this area due to lack of rain.
Q: Are there dams at your fields. A: There are no dams - we depend on rain.
Q: Are there cattle farmers? A: There are no cattle farmers.
The cattle villagers have are sold when there are funerals or weddings.
Q: Do you have grazing fields. A: Yes, but the land allocated for grazing is too small.
Q: What did you do with your sunflower? A: It was sold to Agricor. 97
Q: How many farm workers did you have? A: I only had temporary workers which I used for tilling the soil, planting and harvesting.
4 They were about 6.
Q: How many people are farming? A: Initially we were 5 but presently there are only 3 of them.
Q: Why 3 when people were given plots. A: The problem is water.
The other problem is that of tractors.
Q: Did you get assistance from the government? A: We were assisted by Agricor with seeds and diesel.
Q: Why did you stop farming in 1992? A: It was not profitable to farm.
My crops were destroyed by drought. When I planted earlier, rain did not come and everything was destroyed. Without dams and irrigation scheme I could not proceed.
Q: Why did you divert to business? A: I thought I could make a better living as I had failed as a farmer.
Q: How many business concerns are there in the village? A: There are 5 general dealers, 1 bottle store and many spazas. 98
Q: Have you as business people created work opportunities? A: As you can see my shop is empty.
I am not in a position to employ people. The majority of the people are not working and this is affecting rriy business. I am dependent on pensioners. If I could get assistance I could fill up the shop and employ 2 or 3 people. This might help in relieving the unemployed people. I am working alone in the shop.
Q: Where are the people in this area working? A: Man, this is a very serious problem.
The majority of the people in this area are not working. We do not make good business in this area. Like me, all the shopkeepers do not have workers. The only three farmers cannot employ people. They work with their children. The only areas of employment are the tribal office and school. Mafikeng is a small town and cannot absorb people from this area. There are no factories in this area. This is the situation. 99,-
ADDEMDUM G
INFORMANT NO. 7 (peasant farmer) May 1995
Q: Where were you born? A: I was born in the Cape and only came to ou Tsetse in 1974.
I was married by a man from the Zeerust district.
Q: What was your economic position at ou Tsetse? A: My husband was a farmer.
He planted sorghum, maize and sunflower. We also operated a general dealer's store and butchery. Our agricultural products were sent to an agricultural corporation in Lichtenburg and so was our :milk. The soil was good and we had enough rain. This made us economically independent. Some of our people worked in industrial areas and came home over week-ends. Only a few workers for neighbouring white farmers.
Q: When and why did you leave ou Tsetse? A: We left the farm in 1978 but I do not understand why we had to leave.
I was informed by my mother-in-law when we were in the Cape that we should come home to Tsetse because the people were to leave. 100
Q: Who chose new Tsetse for you? A: Our husbands went out looking for a place where we could live.
But we were supposed to have settled at the place where the military base is situated. We were brought to this area.
Q: Were you given farms when you arrived here? A: Yes, we had an agricultural field and grazing land for our livestock.
But we do not have enough space for grazing. We were given small plots - the size is 50 x 50 feet.
Q: When did you start farming? A: In 1979.
Q: Is this area suitable for farming? A: The soil is good provided it is fertilized.
Our main problem is rain and there are no dams at the agricultural' field.
Q: What agricultural plants do you grow? A: Initially we grow maize and sunflower.
We stopped growing maize because of lack of rain and theft.
Q: Are there cattle farmers? A: There are no cattle farmers in this area.
Like other villagers I have few cattle, sheep and goats. 101
The people sell their livestock when there, are weddings, funerals'? and feasts. I do not send my cattle to the abattoir but to a white butcher. He buys my cattle, pigs and sheep.
Q: What do you do with your sunflower after harvesting? A: I send my products to the produce corporation.
Let me point out that when we started farming we also produced vegetables like cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, beans and carrots. But rain became a problem. We sold our vegetables to people in bags. In 1994 a bag of sunflower was about R165 and maize R97. We produced about 135 bags of sunflower.
Q: How many farm workers do you have? A: I have employed 3 permanent workers.
Two of them are tractor drivers and one is a reliever. At harvesting time I employ about 25-30 temporary workers.
Q: How many people are farming? A: Initially there were 5 small farmers but presently we are only 3.
Q: Why 3 when people were given plots? A: The problem is that people do not have tractors and farming, implements.
The problem of lack of water and drought is also a contributory factor. 102
Q: Do you get assistance from the government? A: We only get assistance from Agricor.
The corporation assists me with seed, diesel and repairs to broken tractors. They help me in paying my workers. I repay them after harvesting. I know of few people who are assisted by Agricor.
Q: What do you need in order to become a progressive farmer? A: We need to have dams at our agricultural fields and water pumping machines.
The government should help with irrigation schemes. We are share-croppers - there is a need to consolidate the small plots. into big farms. As it is, plots are lying fallow because of the problems experienced. 103
INTERVIEW A ADDEMDUM H
Interview with Mr Mark Hattingh-Commercial farmer, 15 August 1996.'
Q: Mr Hattingh, how long have you lived in the Ventersdorp area? A: I was born on the farm Polka, which lies next to Doornkop. The farm Polka was owned by my father.
Q: How well do you know the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane? A: I have known them since childhood. I used to play with their children and visited the farm Doornkop.
Q: Were the Bakwena commercial farmers? A: I would not say so because they only owned small plots. They produced for their own needs. Not all the people were involved in agriculture. They used to buy vegetables from my father.. They possessed few cattle as their farm was very small. They used to fetch water far from the farm Doornkop with buckets.
Q: What was their economic position? A: As I have already indicated, they were not commercial farmers and thus could not create job opportunities for themselves. Some of the people worked for neighbouring white farmers, others worked in towns and the rest loitered on the farm Doornkop.
Q: In 1978 when the Bakwena were removed to Ramatlabama did they all move to the new area? A: It was not only the Bakwena who moved to the new area. When news spread about their pending removal, they were joined by other blacks from the neighbouring white farms. I can tell you who were the real Bakwena and who were not. 104
INTERVIEW B ADDEMDUM I
Interview with Mr Pieter van der Merwe-Chairperson of the DiStrict Agricultural Union, 15 August 1996.
Q: Mr van der Merwe, how long have you lived itithe Ventersdorp area? A: I bought the farm, Goedgevonden which lies next to the farm Doornkop, in 1968.
Q: How well do you know the Bakwena Ba Ga Molopyane? A: I have known them since 1968. The person who knows them very well is Mark Hattingh of the farm Polka. He was born on the farm and is the only person who can tell you much about them.
Q: Were the Bakwena commercial farmers? A. No. They only owned small plots and produced for their own needs. They possessed a few cattle.
Q: What was their economic position? A: They could not create work for themselves and some of them worked for white farmers and the others worked in towns. As I said, Mark Hattingh will tell you more about the tribe.