South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, the Executive Council of a

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 outs ...

is the cabinet of the provincial government. The Executive Council consists of the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of gov ...

and five to ten other members,''

Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 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 Gove ...

'', Chapter 6: "Provinces", ss. 125–141 who have the title "Member of the Executive Council", commonly abbreviated to "MEC". MECs are appointed by the Premier from amongst the members of the provincial legislature; the Premier can also dismiss them. The provincial legislature may force the Premier to reconstitute the council by passing a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or ma ...

in the Executive Council excluding the Premier; if the legislature passes a motion of no confidence in the Executive Council ''including'' the Premier, then the Premier and the MECs must resign. The Premier designates powers and functions to the MECs; conventionally they are assigned portfolios in specific areas of responsibility. They are accountable to the provincial legislature, both individually and as a collective, and must regularly report to the legislature on the performance of their responsibilities. 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 202 ...

, the only province to have adopted its own constitution, chose to call its executive council the " Provincial Cabinet", and its MECs "Provincial Ministers".

Membership of executive councils

Eastern Cape

Free State

Gauteng

KwaZulu-Natal

Limpopo

Mpumalanga

North West

Northern Cape

Western Cape

References