‘The kingdom, the Volkstaat and the New South Africa’: drawing South Africa's new regional boundaries

Abstract

This paper provides a critical appraisal of the process of regional demarcation in South Africa which took place between May and November 1993. The Commission on the Demarcation of Regions was an independent professional body, acceptable to all political parties and represented a balanced political, race and gender profile. Although the demarcation process was the most inclusive to date, the limited time allowed for the demarcation process, lack of effective participation from ordinary people, the technicist nature of the Commission, and party political tinkering after the process had been completed, are some of the major weaknesses in the process which led to the drawing of the boundaries of the nine provinces. The alterations of the proposed Commission map, by political parties at the World Trade Centre behind closed doors, concealed vested white minority interests and ethnic claims, and reveal the complexity of meshing traditional and democratic structures. Moreover, separating tasks of delimiting boundaries, and of deciding the structures and powers of provinces was a serious flaw in the process. Any spatial policy which ignores economic production relations will fail, and add to uneven development which may set the scene for future confrontation and conflict.