| QwaQwa | |||||
| Bantustan | |||||
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| Location of QwaQwa within South Africa | |||||
| Capital | Phuthaditjhaba | ||||
| Language(s) | Sesotho, English, Afrikaans | ||||
| Political structure | Bantustan | ||||
| Chief Minister | Kenneth Mopeli | ||||
| History | |||||
| - Self-government | 1 November 1974 | ||||
| - Re-integrated into South Africa | 27 April 1994 | ||||
| Currency | South African rand | ||||
QwaQwa was a Bantustan, or homeland, in the eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of 655 square kilometres (253 sq mi) in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho. Its capital was Phuthaditjhaba. It was the designated homeland of more than 180,000 Sesotho-speaking Basotho people.
QwaQwa means whiter than white, from the Sesotho language, referring to the many sandstone hills of the Drakensberg mountains in which the area is situated. In Afrikaans it was known as Witsieshoek, after the name of a farm.[1]
Two clans lived in the region, the Bakoena and the Batlokoa. In 1969[1] they were united and the area was named KwaKwa. In the same year the name was changed to QwaQwa to avoid an ethnic identification.
On 1 November 1974 QwaQwa was granted "self government", with Kenneth Mopeli as Chief Minister. Mopeli would serve as Chief Minister throughout QwaQwa's existence.
On 27 April 1994 QwaQwa was reunited with South Africa, together with the nine other homelands. It is now part of the Free State province, serving as the capital of Maluti local municipality.
The Municipality comprises also the towns of Harrismith and Clarens. Together they have a combined population of 385 413, of which about 80% lives in QwaQwa. The population is divided as follows; 98.09% Black African; White 1.68%; Coloured 0.09% and Asian and/or Indian 0.13%.
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