North West Provincial Government Explained

Government of North West
Type:Provincial
Constitution:Chapter 6 of the Constitution
Legislature:North West Provincial Legislature
Legislature Type:Unicameral
Legislature Speaker:Sussana Dantjie
Legislature Speaker Title:(Speaker)
Title Hog:Premier
Current Hog:Bushy Maape
Appointer Hog:Provincial Legislature
Cabinet:Executive Council
Cabinet Appointer:Premier
Cabinet Ministries:see Departments

The North West of South Africa is governed in a parliamentary system in which the people elect the North West Provincial Legislature and the legislature elects the Premier as head of the executive. The Premier leads a cabinet of MECs overseeing various executive departments. The provincial government is subject to the Constitution of South Africa.

Executive

Premier

See main article: Premier of North West. The election for the North West Provincial Legislature is held every five years, simultaneously with the election of the National Assembly. At the first meeting of the provincial legislature after an election, the members choose the Premier from amongst themselves. The provincial legislature can force the Premier to resign by a motion of no confidence. If the Premiership becomes vacant (for whatever reason) the provincial legislature must choose a new Premier to serve out the period until the next election. One person cannot have served more than two five-year terms as Premier; however, when a Premier is chosen to fill a vacancy the time until the next election does not count as a term.

In terms specified by the constitution, the executive authority of a province is vested in the Premier. The Premier appoints an Executive Council made up of ten members of the provincial legislature; they are called Members of the Executive Council (MECs). The MECs are practically ministers and the Executive Council a cabinet at the provincial level. The Premier has the ability to appoint and dismiss MECs at his/her own discretion.

The Premier and the Executive Council are responsible for implementing provincial legislation, along with any national legislation assigned to the province. They set provincial policy and regulate the departments of the provincial government; their actions are subject to the national constitution.

In order for an act of the provincial legislature to become law, the Premier must sign it. If he/she believes that the act is unconstitutional, it can be referred back to the legislature for reconsideration. If the Premier and the legislature cannot agree, the act must be referred to the Constitutional Court for final consideration.

The Premier is also ex officio a member of the National Council of Provinces, the upper house of Parliament, as one of the special delegates from the province.

Members of the Executive Council

See main article: Executive Council of the North West. MECs are appointed by the Premier from amongst the members of the Provincial Legislative; the Premier can also dismiss them. The provincial legislature may force the Premier to reconstitute the council by passing a motion of no confidence 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.

Departments

These are the twelve departments in the North West Provincial Government

!Department!Officeholder!Note
Office of the PremierBushy Maape[1]
Agriculture & Rural DevelopmentDesbo Mohono
Arts, Culture, Sports & RecreationKenetswe Mosenogi
Community Safety and Transport ManagementSello Lehari
Cooperative Governance and Traditional AffairsPatrick Maloyi
Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and TourismGalebekwe Tlhapi
EducationViola Motsumi
HealthMadoda Sambatha
Human SettlementsPatrick Maloyi
Provincial TreasuryMotlalepula Rosho
Public Works and RoadsSaliva Molapisi
Social Development Lazarus Mokgosi
Notes
  • : After the 2019 General Elections the former Department of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development became the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
  • : After the 2019 General Elections the former Department of Culture, Arts and Traditional Affairs became the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation.
  • : From 2019/20 the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs has been reorganised into the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Human Settlements. The current officeholder is Patrick Maloyi
  • : After the 2019 General Election the former North West Department of Tourism was disestablished and incorporated into the new Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism.
  • : After the 2019 General Elections the former Department of Education and Sport Development is being reorganised into the Department of Education.

Public Entities

Legislative

See also: List of members of the 6th North West Provincial Legislature and North West Provincial Legislature.

The provincial legislature are unicameral and have 33 members.[6] The legislature is chaired by a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker.

Power

The North West Provincial Legislature elects the Premier of North West, the head of the province's executive. The legislature, by passing a motion of no confidence, can force the Premier to resign. The legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to compel the Premier to reconfigure the Executive Council, even though the Executive Council members are selected by the Premier. The legislature also appoints North West's delegates to the National Council of Provinces, allocating delegates to parties in proportion to the number of seats each party holds in the legislature.

The legislature has the power to pass legislation in multiple fields, matters such as health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning, all mentioned in the national constitution; in some fields the legislative power is shared with the national parliament, while in others it is reserved to the province alone.

The legislature oversees the administration of the North West provincial government, and the Premier and the members of the Executive Council are required to report to the legislature on the performance of their responsibilities. The legislature also manages the financial affairs of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the provincial budget.

Elections

The Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) are elected by party-list proportional representation with a closed list, using the largest remainder method with the Droop quota to allocate any surplus.[7] The usual term of a provincial legislature is five years. Elections are run by the Independent Electoral Commission. Although it is not constitutionally required, thus far all the elections have been held simultaneously with elections to the National Assembly.

Judiciary

High Court

See also: High Courts of South Africa and North West Division of the High Court 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 boundary; the Superior Courts Bill currently before Parliament will rationalise the courts so that there is a single High Court division in the 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.

Magistrates Court

See also: Magistrate's Court (South Africa). The province is divided into 27 magisterial districts each of which is served by a district magistrate's court. The following towns are seats of magistracy, hosting a district magistrate's court or a detached court of a subdistrict.[8] Regional courts for criminal cases may sit at any of these locations, but regional courts for civil cases sit only at those highlighted in bold text.[9]

CityCity City
BloemhofBrits Christiana
ColignyDelareyvilleGanyesa
Ga-RankuwaKlerksdorp
KosterLehurutsheLichtenburg
MadikweMmabathoMogwase
MothibistadPhokengPotchefstroom
RustenburgSchweizer-RenekeSwartruggens
TaungTembaVentersdorp
VryburgWolmaransstadZeerust

In criminal matters a district court has jurisdiction over all offences except treason, murder and rape, and a regional court has jurisdiction over all offences except treason. A district court can impose a fine of not more than R120,000 or a prison sentence of not more than three years, while a regional court can impose a fine of not more than R600,000 or a prison sentence of not more than 15 years, except that for certain offences a regional court can also impose a life sentence.[10] In civil matters a district court has jurisdiction where the value of the claim is R200,000 or less, while a regional court has jurisdiction where the value of the claim is between R200,000 and R400,000.[11] A regional court also has jurisdiction over divorce and related family law matters.

Cases in which no magistrate's court has jurisdiction must be brought before the High Court, which has the inherent jurisdiction to hear any case. The High Court also hears appeals from the magistrates' courts, and cases in which the constitutionality of any law or conduct of the President is brought into question.

Local Government

See main article: List of municipalities in the North West and Districts of South Africa.

The North West Province is divided into four district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into 18 local municipalities:

District Municipality Municipality
Bojanala Platinum DistrictKgetlengriver
Madibeng
Moretele
Moses Kotane
Rustenburg
Dr Kenneth Kaunda DistrictCity of Matlosana
JB Marks
Maquassi Hills
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District
Kagisano-Molopo
Lekwa-Teemane
Mamusa
Naledi
Ngaka Modiri Molema DistrictDitsobotla
Mahikeng
Ramotshere
Ratlou
Tswaing
The Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality is the smallest district in the province, making up 14% of its geographical area. Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District is the largest district in the province, making up almost half of its geographical area.[12] [13]

Rustenburg Local Municipality is the fastest growing municipality in South Africa and the most populous municipality in the North West Province. Kagisano-Molopo is the largest of the five municipalities that make up Dr Ruth Segomatsi Mompati, accounting for just over half of its geographical area.[14] [15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: September 7, 2021 . Bushy Maape elected as new North West Premier . 25 April 2024 . Government Communication and Information System.
  2. Web site: Home- Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sports Foundation . 24 April 2024 . Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sports Foundation..
  3. Web site: Home- North West Development Corporation . 24 April 2024 . NWDC (SOC) Ltd.
  4. Web site: Home- North West Gambling Board . 24 April 2024 . North West Gambling Board.
  5. Web site: Home- Tourism North West . 24 April 2024 . Tourism North West.
  6. Web site: Seats Available Report – Provincial . PDF . 28 May 2009 . Independent Electoral Commission.
  7. Schedule 1 to the Electoral Act, 1998, as amended
  8. Web site: Lower Courts List . Department of Justice and Constitutional Development . 17 February 2012 . 12 March 2012.
  9. Web site: Proclaimed Magisterial Districts . 24 April 2024 . Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
  10. News: New Fines Imposed for Criminal Procedure Act . 4 February 2013 . Sabinet Law . 11 June 2014.
  11. News: New Limits for Civil Actions in Magistrates' Courts . 2 April 2014 . Sabinet Law . 11 June 2014.
  12. Web site: Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality . 24 April 2024 . Municipalities of South Africa.
  13. Web site: Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality . 24 April 2024 . Municipalities of South Africa.
  14. Web site: Rustenburg Local Municipality . 24 April 2024 . Municipalities of South Africa.
  15. Web site: Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality . 26 April 2024 . Municipalities of South Africa.