Gazankulu
| Gazankulu | ||||||||||
| Gazankulu | ||||||||||
| Bantustan | ||||||||||
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Motto "Mintirho ya Vulavula" (Tsonga: Deeds count) |
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Anthem Hosi Katekisa Afrika |
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 Location of Gazankulu (red) within South Africa (yellow).
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| Capital | Giyani | |||||||||
| Languages |
Tsonga English |
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| Political structure | Bantustan | |||||||||
| Chief Minister |
Hudson Ntsanwisi (1971-1993) Edward Mhinga (1993) Samuel Nxumalo (1993-1994) |
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| History | ||||||||||
| • | Self-government | 1971 | ||||||||
| • | Re-integrated into South Africa | April 27, 1994 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 1980 | 7,730 km² (2,985 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||
| • | 1980 est. | 514,220 | ||||||||
| Density | 66.5 /km² (172.3 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| • | 1991 est. | 954,771 | ||||||||
| Currency | South African rand | |||||||||
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Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Shangaan Tsonga people. It was located in both the Northern Transvaal, now Limpopo province and Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga province. It received self-rule from the central government in 1969, with its capital at Giyani. Gazankulu homeland covered the lands around Elim Hospital, which is 15 km from Makhado town, as well as some areas around Levubu river valley, the villages of Valdezia and Bungeni being the two largest Tsonga settlements in the Levubu river valley, with a combined population of more than 50 000 people, according to the mid-2015 population statistics and stretched down up to Hazyview in Mpumalanga. Total length of Gazankulu, from Elim Hospital to Hazyview, was 317 km long, which is a distance equivalent of travelling from Pretoria to Bandelierkop in Limpopo. The homeland consisted of the 'Mainland Gazankulu' which were Elim, Giyani and Malamulele, with 3 large exclaves, which were Bushbuckridge, Tzaneen and Phalaborwa. Gazankulu shared borders with other black homelands, which were, Venda, Lebowa and Kangwane.
Gazankulu, as a political entity, no longer exists, it is today part of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. In 1994, Gazankulu was sub-divided into different municipalities cross-cutting linguistic and cultural boundaries, a feature of a new democratic South Africa. The western district of former Hlanganani was allocated to Makhado Local Municipality (130 000 people), the southern part of Hlanganani was divided and allocated to Greater Letaba Local Municipality (45 000 people), while the eastern part of Hlanganani was allocated to Greater Giyani Local Municipality (35 000 people). In total, Hlanganani district lost 80 000 people to both the Greater Giyani and Greater Letaba local Municipalities in 1994, while Makhado local municipality was the biggest beneficiary of the former Hlanganani district, it took more than 130 000 people from the former Hlanganani in 1994 when the district was broken-up. The Greater Giyani Local Municipality was merged with some parts of Bolobedu (Northern Sotho speaking), Malamulele was merged with Thulamela Local Municipality and Lulekani was merged with Namakgale to form a new Municipality with Phalaborwa known as Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality. Shiluvane, under Hosi Muhlaba and other Tsonga areas in Ritavi has been merged to form Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality. In Bushbuckridge, the whole area has been merged with Northern Sotho and the Swazi to form Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. East of Hazyview, Mkhuhlu and other areas around Hoxane have been merged with Tshabalala tribal authority (Swazi) to form Mbombela Local Municipality. So in 1994, Gazankulu has been divided into 8 large local municipalities, totalling 1.7 million Tsonga speakers, who mixed with the Swazi, the Venda and the Northern Sotho to form diverse communities with others South Africans, an ideal that former President Nelson Mandela fought for during his lifetime.
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