m - DISA

Implication la clnr that they hod received advance
notice of masa population removals,
Oia of tha businessman I spoke to llvad in
Lulekanl. an area Just east of Pholaboree, which seams
to t>a destined to bacoaa) a alta of M U resettlement
for Gezankulu citizens. A* a Gezankulu citizen, ha
had recently moved acrose tha main road froa tha
raamakoale location ahere ha had owned a tihop and
butchery. (It seems that namafcgale la to become pert
of Lebowa, ahlla Lulekanl - ahere Ha now Uvea -
la to bacoaa part of GaxanKulu. Both settlements are
therefore deatined to bacoaa bantuatan dormitory towns
serving Phelaborea}.
Thla businessmen, (Ur uV)t la a caricature of tha
patty bourgeois 'on the make'. Hia large corrugated-*
Iron housa-cum-office la situated In tha aidat of
shanty-town structures. In contraat to tha general
atmosphere of heat and squalor, hla office la filled
alth ostentatious furniture, ornaaants and paintings.
A Persian-looking rug aas draped over his desk
and a cablnat to tha rear aas filled alth huge books
and a sat of encyclopedias. Tha bizarre situetlon aaa
compounded by hia boabastit self-importance - ha
Initially rafusad to sea a* because I had not aade an
appointment with his 'secretary'.
It would be comforting to believe that Mr hmi
la unique - unfortunately, ha la not.. He is one of
e nee generation of petty bourgeois businessmen
aho are the direct beneflciarlee of bantuatan
consolidation and population resettlement. It is
hardly surprising therefor* th*t ar HI Is i hearty
supporter of the development of Gazankulu. A
particularly revealing expression of the benefits to
be gained by businessman aho gain trading licenses by
virtue of bantuatan consolidation is seen In tha
following extract from tha Gazankulu legislative
assembly debates: 8
Mr N Chauke: Things stildi aorry ma most era
tha shops of foreigners, wnat permits these
shops to be situated in our areas?...Thla Is
disgraceful. Especially non-ehlte shops....
me may sympethlee a little alth ehites because
ee are asking for batter and bigger businesses
from whites with which they muat come and help
us But a non-white? He will only use our
money and go aaay with tha money, we do not
*
need e foreign non—white parson to manage our
businesses.
The granting of trading licenses to citizena of
a particular bantuatan is thus a primary reason for
tha support which tha petty bourgeoisie gives to
bantuatan consolidation. Traders, however, are
not tha only beneficiaries within the petty
bourgeoisie. In 1973 it waa alleged in the Gazankulu
legislative assembly that soma Shengaans ware
'buying cars, hoping that the business of removing
paople would bring them a flubatantlal income*.
Similarly, owners of tha ubiquitoua Japanese
bakkles and taxla who ply ttair respective trades
throughout Gazankulu are beneficiaries of the systaa
by exploiting tha opportunltlea afforded to tha full-
On account of their vested interests they too must
therefore be conaiderad sympathetic to the process
of ethnic rrmgmantetion.
It is a prerequisite that inspectors of schools,
principals, nurses end bureaucrats of tha capital
Glyanl must all be citizens, of Gazankulu in order to
hold their Jobs. For thes% members of tha petty
bourgeoisie the existence of Gazankulu Is of mora than
mere sentimental significance - it la the basis of
their power, status and class position.
Chiefs
TnOTe la no doubt that chiefs mnd headman have played
an instrumental role in fostering ethnic consciousness
amongst their subjects. Tna series of apartheid Acts
following tha 1951 Bantu Authorities Act involved an
attempt by the South African state to conserve
'traditional tribal' structures in a restructured form.
Specifically, they ware almtd at restoring economic,
political and social control to chiefs and headmen
who Had lost these powere aa a consequence of the
penetration of capitalist relatione. By Investing
chiefly elements with administrative control, and by
effectively incorporating them Into tha civil service,
chiefs end headmen ware dr*en into a class alliance
with tha proponents of separate development.
Throughout Gezanfculu I aaa told hoe chiefs and heariann
were bribed and corrupted by promises and often
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material glfta. In a strategy raminiscant of gifts
of worthless trinkwts to chlafs during the colonial
era, one man described to ma how chiefs were given
'dignity bags' (briefcases) at preliminary meetings
with tha South African government.
Significantly, chlafs and headmen now receive
salariee directly from tha bantuatan government,
page H
according to the numbers of subjecta living under them.
This has bean of crucial importance with respect to
population removals since chiefs have often encouraged
such ramovala in tha hope of gaining mora subjects.
In motivating ^n amount of fl16 600 for payments
to chiefs and haooaan In 19?2, Professor Ntsanwisi
told the legislative assembly
Oia ou manse hat gese tint die sLano baweag oadat
hy dense hat. One kaptelna an hoof manna la
ook diasalfde - dmartlla slang eat bmwewg omoat
hy denes hat. 0ns all dus hi dat hlerdle
slenge van ons dams w»t he.
The graphic image of snakes and Intestines
can hardly be mora apposite alth regard to tha
payment of chiefs. Thus, It is no surprise that a
year later Ntsanwisi told tha legislative assembly*
that
A chief will now be paid twice; ha shall be peld
for the wot* ha does at home and also be paid for
being a member of tha legislative assembly.
Tha foregoing dlscuasion does not suggeest that
each and ewry chief and headman has benefitted from
bantuatan consolidation. In many Instances they have
bean moved together with th*lr people and against
their will. Thla has frequently occurred whan, for
example, a Shengnen chief has bean moved In order tft f
facilitate tha consolidation of Vanda. But even
forced remove Is do not neceasarily negate the ethnic
consciousness of those chiefs removed with their
people, revealing it as a fraud. Quite tha contrary;
hostility and resentment against being removed la
seldom aimed against the distant South African
government. Since it Is directed against tha ethnic
group amongst whom the removed people have bean
living, ethnic consciousness can be. engendered among
chiefs, headman and their people, irrespective of
whether they stand to gain or loam by being removed.