The second arm of government, the executive, in the province is headed by the Premier is usually appointed by the President. The Premier in the North West is the Honourable Maureen Modiselle. She is supported by ten MECs, each of whom is responsible for a particular provincial department, and is answerable to the Legislature for the functions of that department and they are collectively called EXCO which comprises 10 MECs (Members of the Executive Council) who are each responsible for a provincial department. Certain bills and competencies may only be passed by Parliament and the ministries e.g. money bills and justice.
The function of the Executive is to put the laws made by the Legislature into effect, and to ensure that they are implemented. The Executive must make sure that all of the necessary support systems and structures are in place so that the law can be implemented (for example, to ensure that there are enough schools built, and supplies provided to the schools, so that education can be provided to learners). The Executive is really responsible for running the country or province on a practical level. This is done through the government departments, which is also called the Public Administration or the Public Service.
The provincial judiciary operates in much the same way as the national judiciary. The judiciary is the branch of government that deals with the administration of justice. The judiciary is responsible for ensuring that the law is upheld, interpreting the law, applying the law to specific cases, and that those citizens who have broken the laws are punished. The courts, the judges and the magistrates comprise the judiciary.
The National council of Provinces is one of the two Houses of Parliament.
Members of the Council are drawn from the Provincial Legislatures to represent their provinces.
The National Council of Provinces construction is based around the notion of nine provincial delegations, with each province having the same number of votes irrespective of size or wealth. Each province has 10 delegates. There are 4 special and 6 permanent delegates. The delegation is headed by the Premier of each province who is one of the special delegates. If necessary, the Premier can appoint someone to take his or her place.
Each provincial delegation of ten (10) reflect the party political power balance of the particular North West Provincial Legislature and will comprise of the following:
• Six (6) Permanent delegates;
• The Premier of the Province, or when he or she is unavailable, a designated substitute drawn from the North West Provincial Legislature;
• Three special delegates, who must also be members of the North West Provincial Legislature wit the concurrence of the Premier.
The allocation of the Permanent delegate and special delegate to the North West Provincial Legislature is governed by Clause 7 (1) (b) of schedule 6 of the final Constitution.
Each provincial delegation of ten (10) reflect the party political power balance of the particular North West Provincial Legislature and will comprise of the following: • Six (6) Permanent delegates; • The Premier of the Province, or when he or she is unavailable, a designated substitute drawn from the North West Provincial Legislature; • Three special delegates, who must also be members of the North West Provincial Legislature wit the concurrence of the Premier. The allocation of the Permanent delegate and special delegate to the North West Provincial Legislature is governed by Clause 7 (1) (b) of schedule 6 of the final Constitution.
Within days after an election the North West Provincial Legislature will nominate six delegates whose names were put forward by political parties that secured seats in the Council according to a formular outlined in the Constitution. In addition, there are four special delegates who attend sittings based on the bill or debates before the House.
After the National Assembly has passed a Bill (draft law), it must go to the National Council of Province. There are three kinds of Bills the NCOP must deal with:
1. Bills which do not affect provinces Bills which do not affect provinces are those which relate to national functions (such as Defence, Foreign Affairs and Justice). When such a Bill has been passed by the National Assembly, it goes to the NCOP. Each delegate has one vote and can decide whether to vote for or against the Bill. Usually delegates vote along party lines.If the Bill is passed , it goes to the President for signing. Once a Bill is signed by the President, It becomes an Act of Parliament or law. If the NCOP wants to make changes to a Bill, it goes to the National Assembly who can accepts or reject the changes. It then goes to the President for signing.
2. Bills which affect provinces Example of Bills that affects provinces include, for example, Bills on Safety and Security, Welfare, Education and Health. Such a Bill may be introduced either in the National Assembly or in the NCOP. The voting in the NCOP is different for Bills that affect the provinces. In these cases, each province (and not each individual member) has one vote. This means there must be consensus in each province on the Bill. If there is a disagreement between the National Assembly and the NCOP about a Bill affecting provinces, the Bill must be sent to a mediation Committee. This Committee consists of nine members of the NCOP and nine of the National Assembly.The mediation Committee must try to find agreement. If the resolves the issue, both Houses must then vote on the Bill. If it does not, the Bill is returned to the National Assembly which may vote on it again. In such a case, a two thirds majority is required to pass a Bill. In other words, The National Assembly can override the NCOP by a two thirds majority.
3. Bills which amend the constitution When a Bill to amend the Constitution directly affects the province, at least six of the nine provinces in the NCOP must agree.
In the case of some Bills that amends the Constitution; the NCOP does not have much power to pass Bills like the National Assembly.There is a good reason for this. The National Assembly consists of direct representatives of the political party you have supported in the election. Delegates on the NCOP represent the legislature in each province and were elected to the province and not to the NCOP. This means they represents their provinces and do not represent individual voters directly.
Because members of the NCOP are provincial delegates, the way to influence the NCOP is through the North West Provincial Legislature. The party that wins most support in the provincial election will head the provincial delegation to the NCOP.Like every other meeting of the Parliament, you have a right to attend the meetings of the Standing Committee of the NCOP and attend all its sittings.When the NCOP is debating a Bill, it also has a duty to take in account what members of the public feel. This means that you have a right to inform any member of the NCOP or its standing Committee of your views.The word parliament comes from the word to speak. It is here that the voice of all people of the country is heard through their elected representatives. Your voice …and the voices of all other citizens of the country. Every voice is important!
The function of the North West Provincial Legislature is to make laws for the North West Province. The areas in which the North West Provincial Legislature can make laws are set out in Schedules 4 and 5 of the Constitution. The North West Provincial Legislature could also make laws relating to matters which Parliament has passed legislation assigning the power to make legislation to the provinces, or matters were the Constitution envisages that provincial legislation would be passed. It is important to remember that any law that the North West Provincial Legislature makes only applies in that province; it is possible, in certain circumstances, for the National Parliament to pass national laws which would ‘take precedence’ over provincial laws that deal with the same matter.
This section provides an overview of the stages and processes involved in making or amending (changing) a law.
The process of making a law sometimes begins with a discussion document, called a Green Paper. This is drafted in the Ministry or department dealing with the particular issue in order to show the way that it is thinking on a particular policy. It is then published so that anyone who is interested can give comments, suggestions and ideas. The Green Paper is sometimes followed by a more refined discussion document, called a White Paper, which is a broad statement of government policy. This is drafted by the relevant department or a task team designated by the Minister of that department. Comment may again be invited from interested parties. The relevant parliamentary Committees may propose amendments or other proposals and then send the policy paper back to the Ministry for further discussion and final decisions.
A Bill is the draft version of a law or Act. It may be proposing either an entirely new Act, or an amendment to an existing Act, or it can simply repeal an existing Act.
There are four main types of Bills that come before Parliament:
1. ordinary Bills that do not affect the provinces (section 75 of the Constitution);
2. ordinary Bills that affect the provinces (section 76 of the Constitution);
3. Money Bills (section 77 of the Constitution); and
4. Bills amending the Constitution
A Section 74 bill is a Bill amending Section 74 of the Constitution.
A Section 75 Bill is a Bill that does not affect the provinces.
A Section 76 Bill is a Bill that does affect the provinces. These include casinos; racing; gambling; cultural matters; disaster management; education excluding tertiary education; environment; health services; housing; population development; public transport; tourism; trade; traditional leadership; welfare services; and child care facilities.Bills that affect the provinces may be introduced in either the National Assembly or the NCOP. Once introduced in Parliament, Bills are also sent to the North West Provincial Legislature so that they can begin considering them.