Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the country's second-largest city, after Johannesburg, and the largest in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
The Eastern Cape is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha. Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also known for being home to many anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela.
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 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George.
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountainous vicinity and named the area after their leader. The Lebombo mountains are also named after them. The river has been called the Vhembe by local Venda communities of the area. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is situated in Lebowakgomo.
The Democratic Alliance is a South African political party which is a part of the current South African Government of National Unity (GNU) together with the African National Congress (ANC), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and several others. The party has been the second-largest in South Africa since its foundation in 2000. The party is broadly centrist, and has been attributed both centre-left and centre-right policies. It is a member of Liberal International and the Africa Liberal Network. The DA traces its roots to the founding of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party in 1959, with many mergers and name changes between that time and the present. The DA has a variety of ideologically liberal tendencies, including neoliberalism, social liberalism, classical liberalism, and conservative liberalism. The party draws its support predominantly from Afrikaans and English speakers, people aged over 35, and white South Africans, as well as the Indian and Coloured communities.
North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre and province of Gauteng and south of Botswana.
The Freedom Front Plus is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African government of national unity together with the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance and other parties.
Ebrahim Rasool is a South African politician and diplomat who served as the South African Ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015, as a Member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2010, and as the 5th Premier of the Western Cape from 2004 to 2008. He is a member of the African National Congress and has held various leadership positions in the party.
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 ministers overseeing various executive departments. The provincial government is subject to the Constitution of the Western Cape and the Constitution of South Africa, which together form the supreme law of the province.
Daniel Plato, known as Dan Plato, is a South African politician and a former Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. He served from June 2011 until October 2018 and again from January 2022 until February 2024. He is the former mayor of Cape Town, a position he held for two nonconsecutive terms from May 2009 until June 2011 and again from November 2018 until October 2021. From June 2011 to October 2018, he was the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety.
The economy of the Western Cape in South Africa is dominated by the city of Cape Town, which accounted for 72% of the Western Cape's economic activity in 2016. The single largest contributor to the region's economy is the financial and business services sector, followed by manufacturing. Close to 30% of the gross regional product comes from foreign trade with agricultural products and wine dominating exports. High-tech industries, international call centres, fashion design, advertising and TV production are niche industries rapidly gaining in importance.
The Gauteng Province's total GDP for 2022 was R2.2 trillion, making the province the single largest contributor to South Africa's GDP with a contribution of 33%, despite having only 1.4% of South Africa's land area. Gauteng's Gini coefficient of 0.62 makes it more equal than South Africa as a whole, although this is still a very high figure by international standards. The cities Johannesburg, Midrand and Pretoria, which are all economic powerhouses, and Vanderbijlpark, which is an industrial powerhouse, are all in Gauteng.
Chris Hunsinger is a South African politician. a Member of the South African Parliament since 2014, Caucus Whip and Treasurer with the Democratic Alliance. He was appointed by the then Leader of the Opposition Mmusi Maimane on 5 June 2019 and retained by the current Leader of the Opposition John Steenhuisen in October 2019 and again in December 2020, as The Shadow Minister of Transport. Hunsinger was re-elected to Parliament on 29 May 2024 as Spokesperson for Transport and as a member in the National Portfolio Committee of Transport. He speaks and writes about issues related to consumer and commodity needs in transport, including safety, planning, finance and management with South African roads, rail, maritime, and aviation service providers. Following his re-election to parliament in 2024, he was appointed a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of Parliament. During the parliamentary plenary session on 25 July 2024, Hunsinger was elected to the Board of Trustees as Parliamentary Representative of the Political Office Bearers Pension Fund and subsequently as Chairperson of the Investments sub-committee.
Alan Richard Winde 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 since 1999 and belongs to the Democratic Alliance.
Beverley Ann Schäfer is a South African politician who served as the Deputy Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from May 2019 until May 2024. She served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Economic Opportunities from November 2018 to May 2019. Between June 2014 and October 2018, she served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Economic Opportunities, Tourism and Agriculture in the provincial parliament. She was the Cape Town City Councillor for Ward 54 from 2011 to 2014. She is a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The marine protected areas of South Africa are in an area of coastline or ocean within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Republic of South Africa that is protected in terms of specific legislation for the benefit of the environment and the people who live in and use it. An MPA is a place where marine life can thrive under less pressure than unprotected areas. They are like underwater parks, and this healthy environment can benefit neighbouring areas.
Mireille Mary Wenger is a South African politician who has served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health and Wellness since 2024. A member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), she has been a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since May 2014. She previously served as the DA's Chief Whip from 2019 to 2022 and Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities from 2022 to 2024.
Makalo Petrus Mohale is a South African lawyer and African National Congress politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in the Free State from 2023 until 2024. He had previously been the MEC for Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) from May 2019 until March 2023. Mohale is the provincial chairperson of the African National Congress Youth League.
Tandi Mahambehlala is a South African politician who has served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Tourism since 2021. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation from 2019 to 2021. Mahambehlala was Deputy Minister of Communications between 2017 and 2018. She has been a Member of Parliament since 2014.
Cayla Ann Tomás Murray is a South African politician and former civil servant who served as the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and as a Democratic Alliance Member of the Provincial Parliament from August 2022 until May 2024.
