On the homelands, there could be lessons there for local government and one could use some of their structures. Tribal authorities are not all bad. He notes the Congress of Traditional Authorities of South Africa (CONTROLESA).

On regional government, nine regions make a lot of sense. In conclusion he noted “Government only negotiates when it runs out of options.” Also he notes, “Government realizes that it made a mistake by introducing changes from the top down. What is happening now is a bottom up approach. They know what can happen in terms of the local level. Now they are stuck and don’t know what to do.”

August 8, 1988
I met with a number of people who followed the situation in Bophuthatswana [ often referred to at the time as Bop]. This was only six months after the attempted coup by the Bop military and one of the opposition parties. The coup was only unsuccessful because the South African military went in and broke it up. Among those I spoke with were T.J. Mokgoro, seconded to the Economic Affairs Planning Department of the Bop Government from the University as a planning officer. At that time he noted, the key to understanding the situation here is to realize that it is a temporary situation. Our views are highlighted by the events of the 12th of February (of that year- the day of the attempted coup). The rescue is a manifestation of this. We are a creature of apartheid and even had to ban Cry Freedom here when it was banned in South Africa.

Mokgoro has gone on to have an illustrious career as an academic, a senior administrator and civil society expert. He briefly served as the ANC appointed co-administrator of Bophuthatswana after it was reincorporated by the transitional government. Recently he has served as the Managing Director of ECI/Africa in Johannesburg and is now an independent consultant.

Something will survive of the homeland structure, he said. People will still live here. They will still have organizational structures. People will need education and there will be need for economic development. They are committed to education and training. They are now trying to prepare a situation which will come which will be less stressful. At the national government level this will be very difficult.

However, the current arrangement is not wanted by people. There will be a rearrangement of institutions. There will be a need for regional government. Federal vs. Unitary, we will be a part of South Africa.