Phatudi became involved in the nascent Lebowa nation building exercise and had risen in prominence to the extent that when Lebowa was granted self-government on 2 October 1972, Phatudi was appointed Minister for Education before his election as Chief Minister on 8 May 1973. Not one for wasting time settling into the role, Phatudi had been Chief Minister for one day when he informed the South African government that if Lebowa was to become self-sufficient then substantial tracts of South Africa, including a number of white towns, would need to be added to Lebowa territory. The statement was not well received in Pretoria, although they did eventually transfer several small tracts of land to Lebowa.