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The primary administrative divisions of South Africa are the nine provinces. The provinces are divided into
Since 1994, South Africa has been divided into nine provinces: the
Outside the metropolitan municipalities, the rest of South Africa is divided into 44 district municipalities. These cover large regions of the provinces, and are in turn divided into local municipalities (see below). The district municipalities are responsible for "district-wide" municipal functions, including development planning, bulk supply of utilities, arterial roads, and public transport. In district councils, 60% of the councillors are nominated by the councils of the constituent local municipalities, while the remaining 40% are elected by the population by party-list proportional representation.
The district municipalities are divided into a total of 205 local municipalities. In general, a local municipality includes one or more towns and the surrounding villages and rural areas. A local municipality exercises all the municipal functions not carried out by the district municipality within which it lies. Local municipalities' councils are elected in the same way as those of metropolitan municipalities: half from wards and half by proportional representation.
Metropolitan and local municipalities are divided into wards, with each ward electing one councillor to the municipal council. As of the elections of 1 November 2021, there are 4,468 wards in South Africa.
metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
and district municipalities, with the district municipalities being further divided into local municipalities. Metropolitan and local municipalities are divided into wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
.
Provinces
Since 1994, South Africa has been divided into nine provinces: the Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
, Limpopo, Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...
, North West, the Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...
and the Western Cape. The boundaries of the provinces, which are specified in the national constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
, have been altered twice by constitutional amendment.
Each province is governed by a unicameral legislature elected by party-list proportional representation, and a 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 governm ...
elected by the legislature. The provincial legislatures are represented in the national Parliament by their delegations to the National Council of Provinces.
Metropolitan municipalities
Eight of South Africa's largest cities are governed as metropolitan municipalities, which exercise all municipal functions in their areas, in contrast with the divided responsibilities in areas with the district/local system (see below). Metropolitan municipalities are governed by councils in which half of the councillors are directly elected from the wards (see below) and half are elected by party-list proportional representation. The eight metropolitan municipalities are: Buffalo City (East London
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
), City of Cape Town ( Cape Town), Ekurhuleni ( East Rand), eThekwini ( Durban), City of Johannesburg ( Johannesburg), Mangaung ( Bloemfontein), Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...
), and City of Tshwane ( Pretoria).
District municipalities
Outside the metropolitan municipalities, the rest of South Africa is divided into 44 district municipalities. These cover large regions of the provinces, and are in turn divided into local municipalities (see below). The district municipalities are responsible for "district-wide" municipal functions, including development planning, bulk supply of utilities, arterial roads, and public transport. In district councils, 60% of the councillors are nominated by the councils of the constituent local municipalities, while the remaining 40% are elected by the population by party-list proportional representation.
Local municipalities
The district municipalities are divided into a total of 205 local municipalities. In general, a local municipality includes one or more towns and the surrounding villages and rural areas. A local municipality exercises all the municipal functions not carried out by the district municipality within which it lies. Local municipalities' councils are elected in the same way as those of metropolitan municipalities: half from wards and half by proportional representation.
Wards
Metropolitan and local municipalities are divided into wards, with each ward electing one councillor to the municipal council. As of the elections of 1 November 2021, there are 4,468 wards in South Africa.
References
{{Africa topic, Administrative divisions of South Africa South Africa