Provincial governments of South Africa
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The nine
provinces of South Africa South Africa is divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated, and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth ...
are governed by provincial governments which form the second layer of government, between the national government and the
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
. The provincial governments are established, and their structure defined, by Chapter Six of 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 Govern ...
. The provincial governments are structured according to 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 the ...
in which the executive is dependent on and accountable to the legislature. In each province the provincial legislature is directly elected by
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
, and the legislature in turn elects one of its members as Premier to head the executive. The Premier appoints an Executive Council (a cabinet), consisting of members of the legislature, to administer the various departments of the provincial administration. The powers of the provincial governments are circumscribed by the national constitution, which limits them to certain listed "functional areas". In some areas the provincial governments' powers are concurrent with those of the national government, while in other areas the provincial governments have exclusive powers. The constitution prescribes a principle of "co-operative government" whereby the various layers of government must co-ordinate their actions and legislation; it also lays down a series of rules for resolving conflicts between national and provincial legislation.


Legislature

Each province has 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 multic ...
provincial legislature, varying in size from 30 to 80 members depending on the population of the province. The members of the provincial legislature are elected by
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 ...
for a usual term of five years, although under certain circumstances the legislature may be dissolved before its term expires. By convention elections to the provincial legislatures are held on the same day as elections to 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 such election was held on 8 May 2019. At that election the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC) won a majority in eight of the provinces, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) won a majority in the Western Cape.


Executive

The head of the provincial executive is the Premier, who is elected by the provincial legislature from amongst its members; frequently the Premier will be the provincial leader of the majority party. The term of office of the Premier is the same as that of the legislature (normally five years) with a
term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
of two terms. The legislature can force the resignation of the Premier by 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 mana ...
. If the Premiership is vacant and the legislature fails to elect a new Premier within 30 days, the legislature is dissolved and an election is called. the nine Premiers are: *
Premier of the Eastern Cape The Premier of the Eastern Cape is the head of government of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Eastern Cape is Oscar Mabuyane, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected in the 2019 election. ...
:
Oscar Mabuyane Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane (born 24 February 1974) is a South African politician who has been serving as the seventh Premier of the Eastern Cape since May 2019. He was previously Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Enviro ...
(
ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
) *
Premier of the Free State The Premier of the Free State is the head of government of the Free State province of South Africa. The current Premier of the Free State is Sisi Ntombela, a member of the African National Congress, who was appointed in March 2018. She took of ...
:
Sisi Ntombela Sefora Hixsonia "Sisi" Ntombela (born 16 April 1957) is a South African politician who is the 6th Premier of the Free State and a Member of the Free State Provincial Legislature. She previously served as the Free State MEC for Cooperative Govern ...
(ANC) *
Premier of Gauteng The Premier of Gauteng is the head of government of the Gauteng province of South Africa. The current Premier of Gauteng is Panyaza Lesufi, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected on 6 October 2022, following the resignation ...
:
Panyaza Lesufi Andrek "Panyaza" Lesufi (born 4 September 1968) is a South African politician who was appointed the seventh Premier of Gauteng in October 2022. He was previously Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in the Gauteng provincial gover ...
(ANC) *
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal is the head of government of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The current Premier of KwaZulu-Natal i''s'' Nomusa Dube-Ncube, a member of the African National Congress. She is the first elected woman to assu ...
:
Nomusa Dube-Ncube Nomusa Dube-Ncube is a South African politician and former diplomat who has been the 9th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal since August 2022. A member of the African National Congress, she is the first woman to hold the office. Previously, she served as ...
(ANC) *
Premier of Limpopo The Premier of Limpopo is the head of government of Limpopo province of South Africa. The current Premier of Limpopo is Stanley Mathabatha, a member of the African National Congress, who was appointed in July 2013. He took office on 18 July 201 ...
: Stanley Mathabatha (ANC) *
Premier of Mpumalanga The Premier of Mpumalanga is the head of government of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. The current Premier of Mpumalanga is Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, a member of the African National Congress, who was appointed in March 2018. She took off ...
:
Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane Refilwe Maria Tsipane (born 3 September 1973), known as Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane (alternatively spelt Mtshweni), is a South African politician and a party member of the African National Congress (ANC), who has been serving as the 5th Premier of Mp ...
(ANC) *
Premier of North West The Premier of North West is the head of government of the North West province of South Africa. The current Premier of the North West is Bushy Maape, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected premier in September 2021 after the ...
:
Job Mokgoro Tebogo Job Mokgoro (born 15 May 1948) is a South African politician and academic who served as the 6th Premier of North West from June 2018 until his resignation in August 2021. He was a Member of the North West Provincial Legislature during that ...
(ANC) * Premier of the Northern Cape:
Zamani Saul Zamani Saul (born 7 March 1972) is a South African politician who is the 5th and current Premier of the Northern Cape and a Member of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature. He has also been serving as the Provincial Chairperson of the Africa ...
(ANC) *
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 ...
:
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 ...
( DA) The Premier appoints an Executive Council (a cabinet) of five to ten members of the provincial legislature. The Members of the Executive Council (or MECs) are responsible for the various departments of the provincial administration. Because the responsibilities of the provincial governments are limited to those listed in the constitution, the portfolios are quite similar across the provinces. Common MEC portfolios and departmental responsibilities include: * agriculture * arts and culture *
economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
* education * environmental affairs *
finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
*
health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
*
human settlements In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities ...
* local government * police or
public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensur ...
*
public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
* roads and transport * social development *
sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
and
recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...
* tourism Several of these areas may be combined in one department and the portfolio of one MEC.


Judiciary

{{see also, High Courts of South Africa South Africa has a single national court system, and the administration of justice is the responsibility of the national government. At present the jurisdictional boundaries of the High Courts do not correspond entirely with the provincial boundaries; the Superior Courts Bill currently before Parliament will rationalise the courts so that there is a single High Court division in each province. The provincial executive does play a role in the selection of High Court judges, as the Premier of a province is ''ex officio'' a member of the Judicial Service Commission when it deals with matters relating to a High Court that sits in that province.


Provincial constitutions

A provincial legislature can, by a two-thirds majority vote, adopt a constitution for the province; it is not necessary to do so, as the national constitution provides a complete structure for provincial government. A provincial constitution must be consistent with the national constitution except that it can provide for different structures and procedures for the executive and the legislature. The only province that has adopted a constitution is 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 ...
; in doing so it chose to rename its legislature the Provincial Parliament. It also calls its Executive Council the Provincial Cabinet, and the MECs are called Provincial Ministers.


See also

*
Government of the Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape province of South Africa is governed in a parliamentary system in which the people elect the provincial legislature and the legislature, in turn, elects the Premier as head of the executive. The Premier leads an Executive Coun ...
*
Government of Gauteng The government of Gauteng province in South Africa consists of a unicameral legislature elected by proportional representation, and an executive branch headed by a Premier who is elected by the legislature. Legislature The provincial legis ...
*
Government of the Northern Cape The Northern Cape province of South Africa is governed in a parliamentary system in which the people elect the provincial legislature and the legislature, in turn, elects the Premier as head of the executive. The Premier leads an Executive Cou ...
*
Government of the Western Cape The Western Cape province of South Africa is governed in a parliamentary system 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 min ...


External links


South African Government Online: Provincial government and departments

Provincial Government Handbook of South Africa

Eastern Cape provincial government

Free State provincial government

Gauteng provincial government

KwaZulu-Natal provincial government

Limpopo provincial government

Mpumalanga provincial government

Northern Cape provincial government

North West provincial government

Western Cape provincial government
Government of South Africa
Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
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 countri ...