ANC Northern Transvaal fumes

Many people who worked for Lebowa took their pensions when they were unsure about the future of the self-governing territories. Many went on to build big and beautiful houses in the countryside. The nature of what was happening then is not very clear but perceptions of a crises were doing the rounds. When you look closely at the matter it was just uncertainty but the then government made it an issue of a corrupt government by Africans who had already made inroads into the civil service. The statement by the Northern Tvl on the issue may shed some light;

"The continuing crises in the self-governing territory of Lebowa gives us cause for concern. After the announcement by Minister Fourie that his government had taken control of the financial administration of the territory, we challenged him to explain to the public, particularly the people of this region, the real reasons of his actions.
Mismanagement and corruption, we pointed out, had been a malice running through the body of the Apartheid administration itself, not only the Bantustans. Mr. Fourie has taken a step further and pushed through Parliament a bill which will empower State President De Klerk to perform executive powers in self-governing territories. This move we condemn in the strongest terms and we would like to use this opportunity to warn the government that the African National Congress in this region and indeed nationally will muster all the power at its disposal to resist any attempts at controlling Lebowa.
The actions of Minister Fourie run against the letter and spirit of the Transitional Executive Council Act which was passed in Parliament very recently. We see these actions as yet another act of bad faith as the government continues to act unilaterally on matters of such grave importance.
We can only conclude that the government is bent on undermining the massive support that the ANC enjoys on the ground in this region. Unlike the Reef and Natal where violence has been employed for this purpose the National Party strategy for the Northern Transvaal region is distinguished by a covert political manoeuvre, taking advantage of its fast-fading hold on the reigns of government. It therefore comes as no surprise to us that Pretoria should choose this very moment in time to wrest control of the territory of Lebowa, especially in view of the forthcoming elections.
It is quite clear that having undermined the coherence of the Patriotic Front the National Party has now gathered the confidence to intervene in Lebowa as a guardian angel, the high priest of righteousness - the very National Party that has mismanaged the country for decades, bringing untold misery to millions of our people.
We insist that all agreements reached between the Lebowa administration and the civil servants be honored without delay by Pretoria. What must be clear, however, is that by honoring these agreements, the National Party will be doing no-one a favour. These are rights duly and paid out of the taxpayers money."
Issued by the African National Congress Northern Transvaal region Reference: Ngoako Ramatlhodi - Regional Chairperson (01521) 682 100 Ian M. Madikoto - Regional Media Officer (01521) 914 315.