Within the South African State there are ten different bantustan "states", complete with administrations, military and police. Once the bantustans were described as "dumping grounds". In this paper the author shows that they are much more than that. They have turned into scenes of protest and resistance against apartheid. The bantustan leaders today are needed both by Pretoria and the ANC, and also try to defend their own interests. A post-apartheid government may need the bantustan state machinery as instruments of order and reform. This paper discusses the implications of this scenario.