Northern Cape Provincial Legislature

Northern Cape Provincial Legislature
5th Legislature
Type
Type
History
Founded April 27, 1994 (1994-04-27)
Leadership
Speaker
Mosimanegare Kenneth Mmoiemang, ANC
Deputy Speaker
Juanita Beukes, ANC
Structure
Seats 30
Political groups
  African National Congress (20)
  Democratic Alliance (7)
  Economic Freedom Fighters (2)
  Congress of the People (1)
Elections
Party-list proportional representation
Last election
 7 May 2014
Meeting place
New Provincial Legislature Building, Galeshewe, Kimberley
Website
www.ncpleg.gov.za

The Northern Cape Provincial Legislature is the legislature of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is a unicameral body of 30 members elected every five years. The current legislature was elected on 7 May 2014 and has an African National Congress majority of 20 members. It is situated in Kimberley, in a newly built complex to the west of the city centre on the edge of Galeshewe.

The Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, like the eight other provincial legislatures in South Africa, was created on 27 April 1994 by the Interim Constitution of South Africa, which dissolved the four original provinces (and their provincial councils) and created the nine current provinces. It is currently constituted in terms of Chapter Six of the Constitution of South Africa, which defines the structure of the provincial governments.

Election

The provincial legislature consists of 30 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 7 May 2014. The following table summarises the results.

Party Votes Vote % Seats
African National Congress 272,053 64.40 20
Democratic Alliance 100,916 23.89 7
Economic Freedom Fighters 20,951 4.96 2
Congress of the People 15,218 3.60 1
Other parties 13,293 3.15 0
Total 422,431 100 30

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

Event Date ANC NP / NNP COPE DP / DA ID VF / VF+ ACDP
1994 election 27 April 1994 15 12 — 1 — 2 0
1999 election 2 June 1999 20 8 — 1 — 1 0
2004 election 14 April 2004 21 2 — 3 2 1 1
2005 floor-crossing 15 September 2005 24 — — 3 1 1 1
2007 floor-crossing 15 September 2007 25 — — 2 1 1 1
2009 election 22 April 2009 19 — 5 4 2 0 0

Officers

The Speaker is the political head of the legislature. As of 2013 the Speaker is Mosimanegare Kenneth Mmoiemang. He is a member of the African National Congress. The following people have served as Speaker:

Name Entered Office Left Office Party
Ethne Papenfus[1] 1994 2004 DP
Connie Seoposengwe 2004 2009 ANC
Jacobus van Wyk 2009 2013 ANC
Mosimanegare Kenneth Mmoiemang 2013 present ANC

Powers

The Northern Cape Provincial Legislature elects the Premier of the Northern Cape, the head of the provincial executive. The legislature can force the Premier to resign by passing a motion of no confidence, or remove her for misconduct or inability. Although the Executive Council (cabinet) is chosen by the Premier, the legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the Premier to reconstitute the Council. The legislature also appoints the Northern Cape'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 various fields enumerated 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 such matters as health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.

The legislature oversees the administration of the 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 controls the finances of the provincial government by way of the appropriation bills which determine the provincial budget.

References

  1. ↑ Speaker Papenfus was re-elected in June 1999

Coordinates: 28°44′02″S 24°43′12″E / 28.734°S 24.720°E / -28.734; 24.720

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