The

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of South Africa is governed in a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...

in which the people elect the Provincial Parliament, and the parliament elects the Premier as head of the executive. The Premier leads a cabinet of provincial ministers overseeing various executive departments. The provincial government is subject to the

Constitution of the Western Cape The Constitution of the Western Cape is, subject to the Constitution of South Africa, the highest law regulating the structure and powers of the government of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It was enacted by the Western Cape Provincial ...

and the

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gover ...

, which together form the supreme law of the province.

Parliament

The Western Cape Provincial Parliament, situated in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, is the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

of the provincial government. The parliament is a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

legislature of 42 members, elected by a system of

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...

. An election is held every five years, conventionally at the same time as the election of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. The most recent election occurred in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Executive

The

premier of the Western Cape The Premier of the Western Cape is the head of government of the Western Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Western Cape is Alan Winde, a member of the Democratic Alliance, who was elected in the 2019 election. He took ...

is the head of the provincial government; chosen by the members of the provincial parliament from amongst themselves. The premier chooses a cabinet of ministers to oversee the various departments of the provincial government. The

director-general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

is the non-political head of the provincial administration, while each government department is led by a head of department. The current premier is

Alan Winde Alan Richard Winde (born 18 March 1965) is a South African politician and businessman. He is the 8th and current Premier of the Western Cape, having held the position since 2019. He has been a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament sin ...

of the Democratic Alliance and the director-general is Harry Malila. Besides the premier, the provincial cabinet consists of ten ministers overseeing thirteen departments.

Provincial Cabinet

Departments

These are the thirteen departments in the Western Cape Government: * Department of Agriculture * Department of Economic Development and Tourism * Department of Community Safety * Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport *

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

* Provincial Treasury *

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

Department of Human Settlements The Department of Human Settlements (formerly the Department of Housing) is the department under the Ministry of Human Settlements, of the South African government responsible for housing and urban development. Its primary purpose is the implemen ...

* Department of Local Government * Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning * Department of Social Development * Department of Transport and Public Works * Department of Premier

Judiciary

South Africa has a single national judiciary; there is no separate system of provincial courts. The Western Cape Division of the

High Court of South Africa The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction over a defined geographical ...

has jurisdiction over all cases arising in the province, but generally handles only the most serious or high-profile criminal trials, high-value civil trials, cases involving

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...

of legislation or executive actions, and appeals from the magistrates' courts. Judges of the High Court periodically go on circuit to hear cases in parts of the province distant from Cape Town. Appeals from the High Court are to the national Supreme Court of Appeal and ultimately (if a constitutional matter is involved) to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

. The province is divided into 42 magisterial districts and 2 sub-districts, each of which is served by a district magistrate's court. There are a further 12 branch courts and 26 periodical courts to serve densely populated or geographically dispersed districts. These district courts have jurisdiction over all criminal cases except murder, rape and treason and can impose a fine of up to R100,000 or a prison sentence of up to three years; and they have jurisdiction over civil cases where the value of the claim is less than R100,000. The regional magistrate's court for the Western Cape, which sits at multiple locations in the province, has jurisdiction over all criminal cases except treason and can impose a fine of up to R300,000 or a prison sentence of up to fifteen years (or life in some circumstances). The regional court also has jurisdiction over civil cases where the value of the claim is less than R300,000, and divorce and family law cases.

Local government

Map of the Western Cape with municipalities labelled

The

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remot ...

metropolitan municipality is the local council for the Cape Town metropolitan area, which contains two-thirds of the province's population. The rest of the province is divided into five district municipalities which are subdivided into twenty-four local municipalities. The municipalities are listed below. *

West Coast District Municipality The West Coast District Municipality is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its municipality code is DC1. Moorreesburg is the seat of the district. As of 2011 it had a total population of 391,766. Geograp ...

Matzikama Local Municipality Matzikama Local Municipality is a local municipality (South Africa), local municipality which governs the northernmost part of the Western Cape province of South Africa, including the towns of Vredendal, Vanrhynsdorp, Klawer and Lutzville, and t ...

Cederberg Local Municipality Cederberg Local Municipality is a local municipality which governs an area of the Western Cape province of South Africa stretching from the Cederberg mountains through the middle valley of the Olifants River to the Atlantic coast. It includes t ...

, Bergrivier Local Municipality,

Saldanha Bay Local Municipality Saldanha Bay Municipality is a local municipality located within the West Coast District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 99,193. Its municipality code is WC014. Geography The municipality cov ...

, Swartland Local Municipality *

Cape Winelands District Municipality The Cape Winelands District Municipality, formerly the Boland District Municipality, is a district municipality located in the Boland region of the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2011, it had a population of 787,490. The largest to ...

Witzenberg Local Municipality Witzenberg Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 115,946. Geography The municipality covers an area of which include ...

Drakenstein Local Municipality Drakenstein Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. it had a population of 251,262. Its municipality code is WC023. Geography The municipality c ...

Stellenbosch Local Municipality Stellenbosch Local Municipality (also known as Stellenbosch Municipality) is the local municipality that governs the towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Pniel, and the surrounding rural areas, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It c ...

, Breede Valley Local Municipality, Langeberg Local Municipality *

Overberg District Municipality The Overberg District Municipality is a district municipality that governs the Overberg region in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is divided into four local municipalities and includes the major towns of Grabouw, Caledon, Hermanu ...

Theewaterskloof Local Municipality Theewaterskloof Municipality is a local municipality (South Africa), local municipality located within the Overberg District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, the population was 108,790. Its municipality code i ...

Overstrand Local Municipality Overstrand Municipality is a local municipality (South Africa), local municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located along the Atlantic coast between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas, within the Overberg District Municipality. T ...

Cape Agulhas Local Municipality Cape Agulhas Municipality ( af, Kaap Agulhas Plaaslike Munisipaliteit) is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. it had a population of 33,038. Its municipality code is WC033. It is named after Cape Agulhas, the sout ...

, Swellendam Local Municipality *

Garden Route District Municipality The Garden Route District Municipality ( af, Tuinroete-distriksmunisipaliteit or ''Garden Route Distriksmunisipaliteit''; xh, uMasipala weSithili sase Garden Route; formerly known as the Eden District Municipality) is a district municipality loca ...

: Kannaland Local Municipality, Hessequa Local Municipality,

Mossel Bay Local Municipality Mossel Bay Municipality ( af, Mosselbaai Munisipaliteit; xh, uMasipala wase Mossel Bayi) is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. the population was 89,430. Geography The municipality covers an area of on the coa ...

, George Local Municipality,

Oudtshoorn Local Municipality Oudtshoorn Municipality ( af, Oudtshoorn Munisipaliteit) is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. , the population was 95,933. Geography The municipality covers an area of in the Little Karoo, stretching from the S ...

, Bitou Local Municipality,

Knysna Local Municipality Knysna Local Municipality ( af, Knysna Munisipaliteit; xh, uMasipala wase Knysna) is a municipality part of Garden Route District Municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. the population is 68,659. Its municipal code is ...

* Central Karoo District Municipality: Laingsburg Local Municipality,

Prince Albert Local Municipality Prince Albert Municipality is a municipality located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. History At the end of the apartheid era, the area that is today the Prince Albert Local Municipality formed part of the Central Karoo Regional Servi ...

, Beaufort West Local Municipality

References

External links

Western Cape Government

Western Cape Provincial Parliament
{{Western Cape Province