Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister 1958-1966

1959: Bantu Self-Government Act:

• Verwoerd recommended that 8 (later 10) self-governing homelands for non-whites. These homelands were known as ‘Bantustans’.
• He hoped to ‘cleanse’ the rest of South Africa of non-whites and force them into these reserves.
• Verwoerd planned to monitor the economy and government of these new Bantustans and prepare them for self-rule.
• He was assassinated before his plans were achieved.

John Vorster, Prime Minister 1966-1978

Vorster intended on completing Verwoerd vision of Bantustans across South Africa.

• Between 1976 and 1981, four Bantustans were created (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei).
• They were too overcrowded and financially weak to stand any chance of prosperity.
• Each Bantustan had its own leader. Each leader was approved by the National party and was little more than a puppet leader.
• The movement of blacks in and out of Bantustans was theoretically banned but many blacks survived by illegally commuting into white districts.