Microsoft Word - PhD Thesis Final.pdf - University of Limpopo ...

Boers had never been able to administer the Blacks in an effective way,
something that was compounded by the scattering of Blacks by the war
itself 388 .
To show that the new British colonial government viewed the Blacks as a
challenge, a specific institution was put in place in 1902 which was to
deal specifically with Black issues, the Native Affairs Department. The
first Commissioner for Native Affairs in the Transvaal was Sir Godfrey
Lagden 389 . For the purpose of effective administration of Blacks, the
Native Affairs Department deployed district commissioners,
commissioners and sub-commissioners in the five districts (divisions) of
the Transvaal, viz., Eastern, Northern (Zoutpansberg), North Western
and Central. The occupation and ownership of land by Blacks were some
of the major challenges which faced the new British colonial
administration in the whole of the Transvaal, including the Makgabeng
area. This was because the Blacks who supported the British war effort,
expected to be rewarded by at least being given back land which they
had lost. However, this was not going to be as the British began to move
closer to the Boers in a political process which resulted in the
establishment of the White-only government, the Union of South Africa in
1910.
388 Report by the South African Native Affairs Commission, p.1.
389 Report by the South African Native Affairs Commission, p. 1.
222