KwaZulu-Natal Legislature

Last updated
KwaZulu-Natal Legislature

IsiShayamthetho saKwaZulu-Natali (Zulu)
6th Legislature
KwaZulu Natal Legislature seal.png
Type
Type
Leadership
Speaker
Deputy Speaker
Themba Mthembu, African National Congress
since 26 November 2020 [1]
Premier
Leader of the Opposition
Structure
Seats80
South Africa KwaZuluNatal Legislative 2019.svg
Political groups
Government
  •   ANC (44)

Official Opposition

Other parties

Elections
Party-list proportional representation
Last election
 8 May 2019
Meeting place
KwaZulu-Natal Parliament building, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.jpg
239 Langalibalele Street, Pietermaritzburg
Website
kznlegislature.gov.za

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members in the parliament.

Contents

Powers

The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature chooses the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the head of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive. The legislature can impel the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence. Although the Premier appoints the members of the Executive Council (cabinet), the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to reshuffle the Council. The legislature also designates the KwaZulu-Natal'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 numerous fields set out 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 fields include matters as health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.

The legislature oversees the administration of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal and the Executive Council members 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.

Election

The provincial legislature consists of 80 members, who are elected through a system of party list proportional representation with closed lists. In other words, each voter casts a vote for one political party, and seats in the legislature are allocated to the parties in proportion to the number of votes received. The seats are then filled by members in accordance with lists submitted by the parties before the election.

The legislature is elected for a term of five years, unless it is dissolved early. This may occur if the legislature votes to dissolve and it is at least three years since the last election, or if the Premiership falls vacant and the legislature fails to elect a new Premier within ninety days. By convention, all nine provincial legislatures and the National Assembly are elected on the same day.

The most recent election was held on 8 May 2019. The following table summarises the results.

South Africa KwaZuluNatal Legislative 2019.svg
PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
African National Congress 1,951,02754.22–10.3044–8
Inkatha Freedom Party 588,04616.34 +5.4713+4
Democratic Alliance 500,05113.90 +1.1411+1
Economic Freedom Fighters 349,3619.71 +7.868+6
National Freedom Party 56,5871.57–5.741–5
Minority Front 18,8640.52–0.510
African Transformation Movement 17,7290.49New1New
African Christian Democratic Party 17,2140.48 +0.041+1
Democratic Liberal Congress 13,6980.38New0New
Freedom Front Plus 11,2690.31 +0.1100
Al Jama-ah 9,8990.28New0New
African Independent Congress 9,2910.26New0New
Justice and Employment Party8,1560.23New0New
Black First Land First 5,7900.16New0New
Congress of the People 4,9570.14–0.0200
Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party 4,2220.12New0New
Good 4,0160.11New0New
African People's Convention 3,6500.10–0.0800
United Democratic Movement 3,5580.10–0.0700
Alliance for Transformation for All 2,6240.07New0New
Azanian People's Organisation 2,5120.07–0.0800
Pan Africanist Congress 2,5100.07–0.0100
National People’s Front 2,4370.07New0New
People's Revolutionary Movement 2,4020.07New0New
African Mantungwa Community 1,5940.04New0New
African Renaissance Unity Party 1,3760.04New0New
African Content Movement 1,3690.04New0New
National People's Ambassadors 1,2940.04New0New
Women Forward 9440.03New0New
African Covenant 9380.03New0New
National Religious Freedom Party 8960.02New0New
Total3,598,281100.00–800
Valid votes3,598,28198.46
Invalid/blank votes56,4201.54
Total votes3,654,701100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,524,66666.15
Source: Election Resources

The following table shows the composition of the legislature after past elections and floor-crossing periods.

Event ACDP ANC ATM DP/DA EFF IFP MF NFP NP/NNP PAC UDM Others
1994 election 126—2—411—91—0
1999 election 132—7—342—3010
2003 floor-crossing 135—6—322—2011
2004 election 238—7—302—0010
2005 floor-crossing 140—5—272——014
2007 floor-crossing 141—5—272——013
2009 election 151—7—182——001
2014 election 052—102916—000
2019 election 14411181311—000

Officers

The Speaker of the Legislature is Ntobeko Boyce, while the Deputy Speaker is Themba Mthembu. [4] The following people have served as Speaker:

NameEntered OfficeLeft OfficeParty
Bonga Mdletshe [5] [6] 19982004 IFP
Willies Mchunu 20042009 ANC
Peggy Nkonyeni [7] 20092013 ANC
Lydia Johnson [8] [9] 20132019 ANC
Ntobeko Boyce 2019Incumbent ANC

Membership

Related Research Articles

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Kwazikwenkosi Innocent Mshengu is a South African lawyer and African National Congress politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in KwaZulu-Natal until 11 August 2022 when he was replaced with Mbali Frazer by the new KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube. He served as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature from May 2019 until February 2023. Mshengu is the provincial chairperson of the African National Congress Youth League.

Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni is a South African politician and educator. A member of the African National Congress, she has been the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance in KwaZulu-Natal since 2022.

Vusumuzi Cyril Xaba is a South African politician and a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2019. He is currently serving as Co-Chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and as Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans. A member of the African National Congress, he previously served in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature from 1994 to 2009 and from 2014 to 2019. He was the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2014 to 2016.

Richard Themba Mthembu is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature since 2009. He was formerly KwaZulu-Natal's Member of the Executive Council for Agriculture and Rural Development from June 2016 to May 2019. He has also served as Provincial Secretary of the South African Communist Party in KwaZulu-Natal since 2002.

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Nhlakanipho Ntombela is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature since before 2014. He is also a longstanding member of the Provincial Executive Committee of the KwaZulu-Natal ANC, and in December 2021 he was elected Deputy Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Moses Mabhida branch in Umgungundlovu District.

Mthandeni Eric Dlungwana, also spelled Dlungwane, is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature between 2011 and 2019. He was formerly KwaZulu-Natal's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education from 2016 to 2019 under Premier Willies Mchunu.

Lydia Johnson is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature until 2019. She was the legislature's Speaker from 2013 to 2019 and previously served in the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council between 2006 and 2011: she was KwaZulu-Natal's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Public Works from 2006 to 2009 and MEC for Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development from 2009 to 2011. In June 2022, she was appointed board chairperson at Ezemvelo.

Lindumusa Bekizitha Gabriel Ndabandaba is a retired South African politician and academic who served in the National Assembly and KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature from 1999 to 2014. He represented the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) until 2003, when he crossed the floor to the African National Congress (ANC).

References

  1. ↑ Mtshali, Samkelo (27 November 2020). "Mthembu elected deputy speaker of KZN legislature". The Mercury. Retrieved 11 December 2020– via Pressreader.
  2. ↑ "Nomusa Dube-Ncube is 'queen of the KZN throne' as IFP, EFF abstain from voting". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  3. ↑ New KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala vows to fight graft in provincial govt. Retrieved on 24 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Mtshali, Samkelo (27 November 2020). "Mthembu elected deputy speaker of KZN legislature". The Mercury. Retrieved 11 December 2020– via Pressreader.
  5. ↑ "Speaker: Bonga Nkanyiso Mdletshe". KwaZulu-Natal Parliament. Archived from the original on 19 January 2004. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
  6. ↑ Speaker Mdletshe was re-elected on June 18, 1999
  7. ↑ Peggy Nkonyeni appointed KZN education MEC. News24. 7 October 2013. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.
  8. ↑ Election of the new Speaker of the KZN Legislature. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.
  9. ↑ Lydia Johnson new speaker of KZN legislature - ANC KZN. Retrieved on 8 January 2019.
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