National Council of Provinces

National Council of Provinces
25th Parliament / 4th Democratic Parliament
Type
Type	Upper house of Parliament of South Africa
Leadership
Chairperson	M. J. Mahlangu, ANC since 2004
Leader of the Opposition	Watty Watson, DA
Structure
Members	90
Elections
Voting system	Indirect proportional representation from provincial legislatures
Last election	6 May 2009
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]

Composition

South Africa

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Africa

Constitution Bill of Rights Government Executive President Jacob Zuma Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe Cabinet Shadow Cabinet Legislative Parliament National Council of Provinces Chairperson M. J. Mahlangu National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu Leader of the Opposition Helen Zille (national) Lindiwe Mazibuko (parliament) Judiciary Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng Pres. of Supreme Court of Appeal Lex Mpati Courts Constitutional Court Supreme Court of Appeal High Courts Magistrates' Courts Elections General: 1910 1915 1920 1921 1924 1929 1933 1938 1943 1948 1953 1958 1961 1966 1970 1974 1977 1981 1984 1987 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 Municipal: 2000 2006 2011 2016 Referendums: 1960 1983 1992 Administrative divisions Provinces Districts (MMs, DMs) Municipalities (list) Other Political parties Foreign relations Taxation

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Election to the NCOP is indirect: citizens vote for provincial legislatures, and each legislature then nominates a delegation of ten members to the NCOP. (Thus, each of South Africa's nine provinces has equal representation in the Council regardless of population.) Each provincial delegation consists of six permanent delegates, who are nominated for a term that lasts until a new provincial legislature is elected, and four special delegates.^[2] One of the special delegates is the province's Premier, or another member of the provincial legislature designated by the Premier, while the other three special delegates are designated ad hoc by the provincial legislature. The party representation in the delegation must proportionally reflect the party representation in the provincial legislature, according to a formula included in the Constitution.^[2] A delegation from the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), which represents the municipalities, may also attend sittings of the NCOP, but may not vote.

After the elections of 22 April 2009, the makeup of the NCOP was as follows:

e • d Determination of delegates to the National Council of Provinces after the 22 April 2009 provincial elections

Party		Delegate type	EC	FS	G	KZN	L	M	NW	NC	WC	Total
	African National Congress	Permanent	4	4	4	4	5	5	4	3	2	35	62
		Special	3	3	3	3	4	4	3	3	1	27
	Democratic Alliance	Permanent	1	1	1	1		1	1	1	3	10	13
		Special			1						2	3
	Congress of the People	Permanent	1	1	1		1		1	1	1	7	8
		Special								1		1
	Independent Democrats	Permanent								1		1	2
		Special									1	1
	Inkatha Freedom Party	Permanent				1						1	2
		Special				1						1
	Freedom Front Plus	Special		1								1
	United Christian Democratic Party	Special							1			1
	United Democratic Movement	Special	1									1
Total			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	90

Decisions

The NCOP may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject 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 ("Schedule 4 areas").^[1]

The NCOP has three decision-making mechanisms depending on the type of bill:^[3]

• "Section 74 bills" amend the Constitution; they may not deal with any matters other than constitutional amendments and matters related to the amendments. A bill that amends section 1 of the constitution (which defines South Africa as a constitutional democratic republic), or amends the Bill of Rights, or amends any constitutional provision affecting the NCOP itself, provincial boundaries or powers, or other specifically provincial matters, must be passed by the NCOP. Each delegation has one vote, and six of the nine delegations must approve the bill for it to pass. Other constitutional amendments do not have to be passed by the NCOP, but they must be debated publicly in the NCOP.
• "Section 76 bills" fall into any of the Schedule 4 areas, as well as various other laws specifically envisaged in the Constitution. In handling Section 76 bills, each delegation has one vote, and five of the nine delegations must approve the bill for it to pass.
• All other bills, specifically including money bills, are "Section 75 bills". In handling Section 75 bills, each delegate in the NCOP has a vote, and the bill must be approved by a majority of members present for it to pass.

In considering Section 74 and 76 bills, each delegation must vote in accordance with a mandate approved by the provincial legislature that it represents.^[4]

Chairpersons

The following people have served as Chairperson of the NCOP:^[5]

Name	Term	Party
Patrick Lekota	6 February 1997–21 June 1999	ANC
Naledi Pandor	21 June 1999–4 May 2004	ANC
Joyce Kgoali	4 May 2004–21 November 2004	ANC
M. J. Mahlangu	21 November 2004–present (acting to 17 January 2005)	ANC

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "National Council of Provinces". Parliament of South Africa. http://www.parliament.gov.za/live/content.php?Category_ID=27. Retrieved 3 December 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, ss. 60–62.
3. ^ Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, ss. 73–77.
4. ^ Mandating Procedures of Provinces Act, 2008, No. 52 of 2008
5. ^ "South African ministries, etc.". Rulers.org. http://rulers.org/safrgov.html. Retrieved 3 December 2010. 

External links

• Parliament of South Africa: National Council of Provinces

See also

• Federalism