The State Government on-line DFA Socio-Economic Development

The government of the Republic of South Africa is structured at national, provincial and local levels. These spheres are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated. The powers of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities are separate.

Parliament is the legislative authority of South Africa and it consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The National Assembly consists of 400 members elected by a system of proportional representation.

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The NCOP consists of 54 permanent members and 36 special delegates and aims to represent provincial interests in the national legislation.

The executive authority lies with the President, Deputy President and Cabinet Ministers. The President elected by the National Assembly, is the Head of the State and leads the Cabinet. The current President of the Republic of South Africa is President Thabo Mbeki.

In accordance with the Constitution, each of the nine provinces has it's own legislature (consisting of between 30 and 80 members) and executive (an Executive Council consisting of a Premier and a number of members). The Provincial legislative is responsible for making provincial laws.

Local government has a certain number of powers and functions. These are, however, subject to national and provincial legislation. Some of these include building regulations; municipal health services; fire-fighting services; municipal public transport; water and sanitation services; refuse removal and traffic regulations.