Qwaqwa, also called Basotho Qwaqwa, formerly Witsieshoek, former nonindependent Bantustan, Orange Free State, South Africa, designated for the southern Sotho (often called Basuto) people. Located in a section of the Drakensberg, Qwaqwa was a glen among mountains at elevations from 5,500 feet to more than 10,000 feet (1,675 m to more than 3,050 m). It was a headwaters area for several streams, including the upper Elands, an important source of water for the Vaal Dam complex. On the southwest, Qwaqwa bordered independent Lesotho; on the southeast, it was bordered by the province of Natal. With an area of 253 square miles (655 square km), Qwaqwa was the smallest of South Africa’s Bantustans. Its name, meaning “whiter than white,” was derived from a white sandstone hill dominating the area.
The area was divided between two groups of southern Sotho people, the Kwena and the Tlokwa. The Orange Free State’s government settled these peoples at Witsieshoek and in the surrounding area in the 1870s by concluding peace with their leaders. In 1926 the Orange Free State government placed the Tlokwa under the authority of the Kwena but gave each group its own regional authority in 1930. In 1969 they were combined into a single territorial authority, which was replaced two years later by a legislative assembly. Qwaqwa was granted self-government in 1974.
Qwaqwa’s economy was based on subsistence agriculture, and corn (maize), sorghum, potatoes, fruits, and other vegetables were grown. Industries included brickworks, gravel quarries, bakeries, and furniture factories. Clay and dolerite were mined. Most of Qwaqwa’s income was derived from migrant contract workers in South Africa. Phuthaditjhaba (formerly Witsieshoek) was the capital and major town. Qwaqwa contained only a small minority of South Africa’s southern Sotho people.
Under the South African constitution that abolished the apartheid system, Qwaqwa was reincorporated into South Africa as part of the Orange Free State (now Free State) province in 1994.