National Council of Provinces List
| |
---|---|
27th Parliament | |
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Deputy Chairperson | Sylvia Lucas,ANC since 23 May 2019 |
Chief Whip | Seiso Mohai,ANC since 25 May 2017 |
Structure | |
Seats | 90 (54 permanent, 36 special) |
Political groups | |
Elections | |
Last election | 8 May 2019 |
Meeting place | |
NCOP Chamber, Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa | |
Website | |
National Council of Provinces |
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to many other upper houses of legislatures throughout the world, in that its purpose is to represent the governments of the provinces, rather than directly representing the people. [1]
South Africaportal |
The NCOP consists of ninety delegates, ten delegates for each of the nine provinces regardless of the population of the province. Each province is equally represented in the NCOP.
A provincial delegation is composed of six permanent delegates and four special delegates. The party representation in the delegation must proportionally reflect the party representation in the provincial legislature, based on a formula included in the Constitution.
The permanent delegates are selected by the nine provincial legislatures. The four special delegates include the Premier of the province and three other delegates. They are nominated by each province from the members of the provincial legislature and are contingent on the subject matter being considered by the NCOP. The premier leads the province's delegation in the NCOP, but they can choose any of the others delegates to head of the delegation in their absence.
The South African Local Government Association is also part of the NCOP. SALGA has 10 delegates who may partake in the debates and other activities, but they do not vote.
After the elections of 8 May 2019, the new provincial legislatures met on 22 May to elect NCOP delegations. The delegations elected are described in the following table.
Party | Delegate type | Province | Total | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
EC | FS | G | KZN | L | M | NW | NC | WC | |||||
African National Congress | Permanent | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 29 | 54 | |
Special | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 25 | |||
Democratic Alliance | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 20 | |
Special | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | |||||||
Economic Freedom Fighters | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 11 | |
Special | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
Freedom Front Plus | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
Special | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
Inkatha Freedom Party | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
Special | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
Total | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 90 |
The NCOP may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject the legislation. It must consider all national bills, and also has the power to initiate legislation in the functional areas where Parliament and the provincial legislatures have concurrent legislative power. [1]
The NCOP has four decision-making mechanisms depending on the type of bill: [2]
The office of President of the Senate was succeeded by the office of chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in 1997. The inaugural holder of the position was Mosiuoa Lekota. He served as chairperson from 1997 to 1999. The chairperson is elected from the permanent delegates for a five-year term. The election of the chairperson is presided over by the Chief Justice of South Africa. The Chief Justice can, however, designate another judge to preside. The chairperson, in turn, presides over the other elections that takes place in the chamber. The legislative also elects a permanent deputy chairperson. A second deputy chairperson is elected for a one-year term. The position rotates between the nine provinces, enabling the provinces to have its members elected second deputy chairperson,
The chairperson chairs all the sittings of the National Council of the Provinces. If the chairperson is not present at the sittings, the deputy chairperson or House Chairpersons can preside over the sitting of the chamber. [3]
The current chairperson is Amos Masondo after having taken office on 23 May 2019. The current deputy chairperson is Sylvia Lucas. The following people have served as chairperson of the NCOP:
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Political party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
1 | Mosiuoa Lekota (born 1948) | 6 February 1997 | 21 June 1999 | 2 years, 135 days | African National Congress | |
2 | Naledi Pandor (born 1953) | 21 June 1999 | 4 May 2004 | 4 years, 318 days | African National Congress | |
3 | Joyce Kgoali (1950–2004) | 4 May 2004 | 21 November 2004 (Died in office) | 201 days | African National Congress | |
4 | Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu (born 1952) | 17 January 2005 Acting since 21 November 2004 | 22 May 2014 | 9 years, 125 days | African National Congress | |
5 | Thandi Modise (born 1959) | 22 May 2014 | 22 May 2019 | 5 years | African National Congress | |
6 | Amos Masondo (born 1953) | 23 May 2019 | Incumbent | 4 years, 267 days | African National Congress |
The chairperson of the committees is appointed by the members of the legislature. The position holds the following roles, including presiding over the meeting of the committee of chairpersons, approve the budget and expenditures of the committees and to preside over sittings of the House, when the chairperson and deputy chairperson are not available.
Whips represent their individual parties' interests and ensure the discipline of their members. They also ensure that their parties function effectively. There are two Chief Whips who are official office bearers, the Chief Whip of the majority party and the Chief Whip of the largest opposition party. The smaller parties have Senior Whips assisted by a number of whips. The Chief Whips are formally appointed by the chairperson. The Chief Whip of the majority party is responsible for the detailed arrangement of the legislative business. [4]
The position is designated to the leader of the largest opposition party in the legislature. Cathlene Labuschagne of the Democratic Alliance has been serving as Leader of the Opposition since her election in September 2016.
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 Government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was drawn up by the Parliament elected in 1994 in the South African general election, 1994. It was promulgated by President Nelson Mandela on 18 December 1996 and came into effect on 4 February 1997, replacing the Interim Constitution of 1993. The first constitution was enacted by the South Africa Act 1909, the longest-lasting to date. Since 1961, the constitutions have promulgated a republican form of government.
Cathlene Labuschagne is a South African politician serving as a permanent delegate to the National Council of the Provinces from the Western Cape since 2014. Labuschagne is a party member of the Democratic Alliance.
The Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa made various changes involving the financial management of national and provincial government. Most of its provisions came into force on 26 April 2002, and the remainder on 1 December 2003.
The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa modified the scheme for the allocation of seats in the National Council of Provinces, to account for the possibility of changes in the party makeup of provincial legislatures. This was necessary because of other legislation which had been introduced to allow members of the provincial legislatures to cross the floor without losing their seats. It came into force on 20 June 2002, and was effectively repealed on 17 April 2009 by the Fourteenth Amendment.
|belowstyle = background-color:transparent; border-top:#aaa 1px solid;; |below = }} The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa repealed some of the provisions inserted into the Constitution by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments which allowed for floor-crossing, that is, allowed members of legislative bodies to move from one political party to another without losing their seats. The remaining floor-crossing provisions were repealed by the Fifteenth Amendment, which was enacted at the same time.
The Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa repealed some of the provisions inserted into the Constitution by the Eighth and Tenth Amendments which allowed for floor-crossing, that is, allowed members of legislative bodies to move from one political party to another without losing their seats. The remaining floor-crossing provisions were repealed by the Fourteenth Amendment, which was enacted at the same time.
The Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (MPL), previously known as the Eastern Transvaal Legislature, is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Mpumalanga.
The 27th South African Parliament is the sixth Parliament of South Africa to convene since the introduction of non-racial government in South Africa in 1994. It was elected in the general election of 8 May 2019 and consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The National Assembly contains 400 members, while the National Council of Provinces contains 90 members. It was formally opened by President Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address in a joint sitting on 20 June 2019.
Simo Ezra Mfayela was a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal who served as a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces from May 2019 until his death. He was the sole permanent representative of the Inkatha Freedom Party and the deputy provincial chairperson of the party. Mfayela was the son of the former senator Dingizwe Phineas Mfayela.
Christiaan Frederik Beyers Smit is a South African politician who has been a permanent delegate on the National Council of Provinces since May 2014. Smit is a member of the Limpopo delegation and a party member of the Democratic Alliance.
Dikgang Mathews Stock is a South African politician from the Northern Cape serving as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2019. Prior to his election to the National Assembly, he served as a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces from 2014 to 2019. Stock is a member of the African National Congress.
Denis Joseph is a South African politician from the Western Cape. A member of the Democratic Alliance, he was elected as a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces in 2011. He served in the NCOP until his election to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament in 2014. After the 2019 election, Joseph returned to Parliament to serve as an MP in the National Assembly.
Masefako Clarah Dikgale is a South African politician who was a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa from 2019 to 2023. Prior to serving in the National Assembly, she served as a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces from Limpopo from 2009 to 2019. Dikgale is a member of the African National Congress.
Hildegard Sonja Boshoff is a South African politician who has served as a permanent delegate to the National Council of Provinces from Mpumalanga twice, from 2013 to 2014 and again since 2019. She served as a member of the National Assembly from 2014 to 2019. Boshoff is a member of the Democratic Alliance.
Azwindini Jeremiah "Jerry" Ndou is a South African politician and diplomat who has served as a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) since October 2022. Before that, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature and Limpopo Executive Council.
Thamsanqa China Dodovu is a South African politician who is currently serving as a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces since May 2019. He was formerly the Mayor of Klerksdorp's Matlosana Local Municipality and served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Local Government and Traditional Affairs in the North West provincial government from May 2012 until June 2013. Dodovu is a member of the African National Congress and served as the party's Deputy Provincial Chairperson in the North West from 2011 to 2015.
Tshitereke Baldwin Matibe is a South African politician who has served as Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature since October 2022. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he was sworn in to the provincial legislature in January 2022 after serving in the National Council of Provinces since 2019. Before that, he was the Executive Mayor of Vhembe District Municipality from June 2012 to August 2016, and he has chaired the ANC's regional branch in Vhembe since 2012.
Freddie Adams is a South African retired politician. A former member of the New National Party, he joined the National Council of Provinces in 2003. He joined the African National Congress in 2005. After the 2014 election, Adams became a member of the National Assembly. Adams left Parliament at the 2019 election.
Busisiwe Veronica "Pinky" Mncube is a South African politician who currently represents the African National Congress (ANC) in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. She was formerly a Delegate to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) from 2009 to 2014.
In Doctors for Life International v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others, the Constitutional Court of South Africa held that Parliament and the provincial legislatures are constitutionally obliged to take reasonable steps to enable effective public participation in the legislative process in respect of every law passed. The court invalidated the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act, 2004 and the Traditional Health Practitioners Act, 2004 on the basis that the National Council of Provinces had not solicited public submissions on the laws before passing them.