South Africa is divided into nine provinces.[1] On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated, and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the Constitution of South Africa changed the borders of seven of the provinces.
Provinces and homelands, as they were at the end of apartheid
Segregation of the black population started as early as 1913, with ownership of land by the black majority being restricted to certain areas totalling about 13% of the country. From the late 1950s, these areas were gradually consolidated into "homelands", also called "bantustans". Four of these homelands were established as quasi-independent nation states of the black population during the apartheid era. In 1976, the homeland of Transkei was the first to accept independence from South Africa, and although this independence was never acknowledged by any other country, three other homelands – Bophuthatswana (1977), Venda (1979) and Ciskei (1981) – followed suit.
On 27 April 1994, the date of the first non-racial elections and of the adoption of the Interim Constitution, all of these provinces and homelands were dissolved, and nine new provinces were established. The boundaries of these provinces were established in 1993 by a Commission on the Demarcation/Delimitation of Regions created by CODESA, and were broadly based on planning regions demarcated by the Development Bank of Southern Africa in the 1980s,[2][3] and amalgamated from existing magisterial districts, with some concessions to political parties that wished to consolidate their power bases, by transferring districts between the proposed provinces.[4][5] The definitions of the new provinces in terms of magisterial districts were found in Schedule 1 of the Interim Constitution.
South Africa's provinces are governed, in different ways, on a national, provincial and local level.[6]
Nationally, there is the National Council of Provinces, one of the houses of Parliament. Then there is the provincial government and, below that, the administration of district and metropolitan municipalities.
South Africa has two houses of parliament: the National Assembly, and the National Council of Provinces.[6] The second exists to ensure that the interests of each province are protected in the laws passed by the National Assembly.
Each one of South Africa's nine provinces sends 10 representatives to the National Council of Provinces. Six of these are permanent members of the council, and four are special delegates.
The provincial legislature elects, from amongst its members, a Premier, who is the head of the executive. The Premier chooses an Executive Council consisting of between five and ten members of the legislature, which is the cabinet of the provincial government.[7] The Members of the Executive Council (MECs) are the provincial equivalent of ministers.
The powers of the provincial government are limited to specific topics listed in the national constitution. On some of these topics – for example, agriculture, education, health and public housing – the province's powers are shared with the national government, which can establish uniform standards and frameworks for the provincial governments to follow; on other topics the provincial government has exclusive power.[8]
The provinces do not have their own court systems, as the administration of justice is the responsibility of the national government.
^Pietermaritzburg and Ulundi were joint capitals of KwaZulu-Natal from 1994 to 2004.
^These statistics do not include the Prince Edward Islands (335 km2, 129 sq mi, with no permanent residents), which are South African territories in the sub-AntarcticIndian Ocean but part of the Western Cape for legal and electoral purposes.
^Parliament sits in Cape Town, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, and the Executive branch in Pretoria.
Provincial acronyms
Province
HASC
ISO
FIPS
CSS
Conventional
Eastern Cape
ZA.EC
EC
SF05
02
EC
Free State
ZA.FS
FS
SF03
04
FS
Gauteng
ZA.GT
GP
SF06
07
GP
KwaZulu-Natal
ZA.NL
KZN
SF02
05
KZN
Limpopo
ZA.NP
LP
SF09
09
LP
Mpumalanga
ZA.MP
MP
SF07
08
MP
Northern Cape
ZA.NC
NC
SF08
03
NC
North-West
ZA.NW
NW
SF10
06
NW
Western Cape
ZA.WC
WC
SF11
01
WC
Notes
HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes ISO: Province codes from ISO 3166-2. For full identification in a global context, prefix "ZA-" to the code FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10–4, a U.S. government standard. CSS: Province codes used by the Central Statistical Service of South Africa. [13]
^Phillips, Laura (27 July 2017). "History of South Africa's Bantustans". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.80. ISBN978-0-19-027773-4.
^. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Muthien, Yvonne G.; Khosa, Meshack M. (1995). "'The kingdom, the Volkstaat and the New South Africa': Drawing South Africa's new regional boundaries". Journal of Southern African Studies. 21 (2): 303–322. doi:10.1080/03057079508708448.
^ ab"The nine provinces of South Africa - South Africa Gateway". South Africa Gateway. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
^ ab"Provincial Government of South Africa". Retrieved 20 November 2017.
^'Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, "Chapter 6: Provinces". Sections 104 and 146.
provinces, south, africa, south, africa, divided, into, nine, provinces, 1994, general, election, south, africa, former, homelands, also, known, bantustans, were, reintegrated, four, existing, provinces, were, divided, into, nine, twelfth, thirteenth, sixteent. South Africa is divided into nine provinces 1 On the eve of the 1994 general election South Africa s former homelands also known as Bantustans were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine The twelfth thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the Constitution of South Africa changed the borders of seven of the provinces South African ProvincesNorth West Northern Cape Gauteng Limpopo Mpumalanga Free State KwaZulu Natal Eastern Cape Western CapeCategoryRegional stateLocationSouth AfricaCreated27 April 1994 1994 04 27 Number9 ProvincesPopulations1 145 861 Northern Cape 12 272 263 Gauteng Areas47 080 km2 18 178 sq mi Gauteng 372 890 km2 143 973 sq mi Northern Cape GovernmentProvincial government National governmentSubdivisionsDistricts Contents 1 History 2 Government 2 1 National Council of Provinces 2 2 Provincial government 3 List 3 1 Provincial acronyms 4 Former administrative divisions 5 See also 5 1 Transportation 6 ReferencesHistory Edit The provinces at the creation of the Union in 1910 See also List of administrators of former South African provinces The Union of South Africa was established in 1910 by combining four British colonies the Cape Colony the Natal Colony the Transvaal Colony and the Orange River Colony the latter two were before the Second Boer War independent republics known as the South African Republic and the Orange Free State These colonies became the four original provinces of the Union Cape Province Transvaal Province Natal Province and Orange Free State Province Provinces and homelands as they were at the end of apartheid Segregation of the black population started as early as 1913 with ownership of land by the black majority being restricted to certain areas totalling about 13 of the country From the late 1950s these areas were gradually consolidated into homelands also called bantustans Four of these homelands were established as quasi independent nation states of the black population during the apartheid era In 1976 the homeland of Transkei was the first to accept independence from South Africa and although this independence was never acknowledged by any other country three other homelands Bophuthatswana 1977 Venda 1979 and Ciskei 1981 followed suit On 27 April 1994 the date of the first non racial elections and of the adoption of the Interim Constitution all of these provinces and homelands were dissolved and nine new provinces were established The boundaries of these provinces were established in 1993 by a Commission on the Demarcation Delimitation of Regions created by CODESA and were broadly based on planning regions demarcated by the Development Bank of Southern Africa in the 1980s 2 3 and amalgamated from existing magisterial districts with some concessions to political parties that wished to consolidate their power bases by transferring districts between the proposed provinces 4 5 The definitions of the new provinces in terms of magisterial districts were found in Schedule 1 of the Interim Constitution On 11 July 2003 the 11th amendment to the fifth constitution renamed the Northern Province to Limpopo On 1 March 2006 the 12th and 13th amendments altered the boundaries of 7 provinces On 3 April 2009 the 16th amendment altered the boundaries of the North West and Gauteng provinces Government Edit Johannesburg City Hall now the seat of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Main article Provincial governments of South Africa South Africa s provinces are governed in different ways on a national provincial and local level 6 Nationally there is the National Council of Provinces one of the houses of Parliament Then there is the provincial government and below that the administration of district and metropolitan municipalities National Council of Provinces Edit Main article National Council of Provinces South Africa has two houses of parliament the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces 6 The second exists to ensure that the interests of each province are protected in the laws passed by the National Assembly Each one of South Africa s nine provinces sends 10 representatives to the National Council of Provinces Six of these are permanent members of the council and four are special delegates Provincial government Edit Each province is governed by a unicameral legislature The size of the legislature is proportional to population ranging from 30 members in the Northern Cape to 80 in KwaZulu Natal The legislatures are elected every five years by a system of party list proportional representation by convention they are all elected on the same day at the same time as the National Assembly election 7 The provincial legislature elects from amongst its members a Premier who is the head of the executive The Premier chooses an Executive Council consisting of between five and ten members of the legislature which is the cabinet of the provincial government 7 The Members of the Executive Council MECs are the provincial equivalent of ministers The powers of the provincial government are limited to specific topics listed in the national constitution On some of these topics for example agriculture education health and public housing the province s powers are shared with the national government which can establish uniform standards and frameworks for the provincial governments to follow on other topics the provincial government has exclusive power 8 The provinces do not have their own court systems as the administration of justice is the responsibility of the national government List EditFurther information South African Provincial Premiers Province Name in the most spoken native language 9 Capital Largest city Area 10 9 Population 2022 11 18 Density 2022 MapEastern Cape iMpuma Koloni Xhosa Bhisho Bisho Gqeberha Port Elizabeth 168 966 km2 65 238 sq mi 6 566 000 38 8 km2 100 sq mi Free State Freistata Sotho Bloemfontein Bloemfontein 129 825 km2 50 126 sq mi 2 732 000 21 1 km2 55 sq mi Gauteng eGoli Zulu Johannesburg Johannesburg 18 178 km2 7 019 sq mi 12 353 000 675 1 km2 1 749 sq mi KwaZulu Natal iKwaZulu Natali Zulu Pietermaritzburg n 1 Durban 94 361 km2 36 433 sq mi 10 273 000 108 8 km2 282 sq mi Limpopo Limpopo Northern Sotho Polokwane Pietersburg Polokwane 125 754 km2 48 554 sq mi 5 396 000 43 0 km2 111 sq mi Mpumalanga iMpumalanga Swazi Mbombela Nelspruit Mbombela 76 495 km2 29 535 sq mi 3 993 000 52 8 km2 137 sq mi North West Bokone Bophirima Tswana Mahikeng Mafikeng Rustenburg 104 882 km2 40 495 sq mi 3 496 000 33 5 km2 87 sq mi Northern Cape Noord Kaap Afrikaans Kimberley Kimberley 372 889 km2 143 973 sq mi 1 136 000 3 1 km2 8 0 sq mi Western Cape n 2 Wes Kaap Afrikaans Cape Town Cape Town 129 462 km2 49 986 sq mi 5 826 000 45 0 km2 117 sq mi Republic of South Africa iRiphabhuliki yaseNingizimu Afrika Zulu Pretoria Bloemfontein Cape Town n 3 12 Johannesburg 1 220 813 km2 471 359 sq mi 51 771 000 42 4 km2 110 sq mi Footnotes Pietermaritzburg and Ulundi were joint capitals of KwaZulu Natal from 1994 to 2004 These statistics do not include the Prince Edward Islands 335 km2 129 sq mi with no permanent residents which are South African territories in the sub Antarctic Indian Ocean but part of the Western Cape for legal and electoral purposes Parliament sits in Cape Town the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein and the Executive branch in Pretoria Provincial acronyms Edit Province HASC ISO FIPS CSS ConventionalEastern Cape ZA EC EC SF05 02 ECFree State ZA FS FS SF03 04 FSGauteng ZA GT GP SF06 07 GPKwaZulu Natal ZA NL KZN SF02 05 KZNLimpopo ZA NP LP SF09 09 LPMpumalanga ZA MP MP SF07 08 MPNorthern Cape ZA NC NC SF08 03 NCNorth West ZA NW NW SF10 06 NWWestern Cape ZA WC WC SF11 01 WCNotesHASC Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes ISO Province codes from ISO 3166 2 For full identification in a global context prefix ZA to the code FIPS Codes from FIPS PUB 10 4 a U S government standard CSS Province codes used by the Central Statistical Service of South Africa 13 Former administrative divisions EditProvince Capital Peak population LocationCape of Good Hope 1910 1994 Cape Town 6 125 335 Natal 1910 1994 Pietermaritzburg 2 430 753 Orange Free State 1910 1994 Bloemfontein 2 193 062 Transvaal 1910 1994 Pretoria 9 491 265 Homelands Capital Peak population LocationBophuthatswana 1977 1994 Mmabatho 1 478 950 Ciskei 1972 1994 Bisho 677 920 Gazankulu 1971 1994 Giyani 954 771 KaNgwane 1981 1994 LouievilleSchoemansdal de facto 779 240 KwaNdebele 1981 1994 KwaMhlanga 404 246 KwaZulu 1981 1994 Nongoma until 1980 Ulundi 1980 1994 5 524 774 Lebowa 1972 1994 Lebowakgomo 2 740 587 QwaQwa 1974 1994 Phuthaditjhaba 342 886 Transkei 1976 1994 Umtata 2 323 650 Venda 1979 1994 Thohoyandou 558 797 Mandates Capital Peak populationSouth West Africa Windhoek 1 415 000Footnotes States for which the homeland was quasi independent See also EditElections in South Africa List of municipalities in South Africa List of South African provinces by Human Development Index Members of the Executive Council MEC Municipalities of South Africa Premier South Africa Prince Edward Islands Proposals for South Africa to annex Lesotho Provincial governments of South Africa Provincial legislature South Africa Telephone numbers in South Africa Vehicle registration plates of South Africa Walvis Bay ISO 3166 2 ZATransportation Edit List of national routes in South Africa List of provincial routes in South Africa List of regional routes in South Africa List of Metropolitan Routes in South Africa Metropolitan Routes in East London Metropolitan Routes in Cape Town Metropolitan Routes in Johannesburg Metropolitan Routes in Pretoria Metropolitan Routes in Durban Metropolitan Routes in Bloemfontein Metropolitan Routes in Port Elizabeth Metropolitan Routes in Pietermaritzburg Numbered routes in South AfricaReferences Edit The nine provinces of South Africa South Africa Gateway South Africa Gateway 6 April 2018 Retrieved 14 April 2018 https core ac uk download pdf 37351010 pdf bare URL PDF Phillips Laura 27 July 2017 History of South Africa s Bantustans Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History doi 10 1093 acrefore 9780190277734 013 80 ISBN 978 0 19 027773 4 Archived copy Archived from the original on 18 August 2018 Retrieved 18 August 2018 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Muthien Yvonne G Khosa Meshack M 1995 The kingdom the Volkstaat and the New South Africa Drawing South Africa s new regional boundaries Journal of Southern African Studies 21 2 303 322 doi 10 1080 03057079508708448 a b The nine provinces of South Africa South Africa Gateway South Africa Gateway 6 April 2018 Retrieved 14 April 2018 a b Provincial Government of South Africa Retrieved 20 November 2017 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 Chapter 6 Provinces Sections 104 and 146 http www statssa gov za census census 2011 census products Census 2011 Census in brief pdf p 25 Census 2011 Census in brief PDF Pretoria Statistics South Africa 2012 p 30 ISBN 9780621413885 Archived PDF from the original on 13 May 2015 Cite error The named reference cib2022 was invoked but never defined see the help page How Many Capital Cities Does South Africa Have South African Provinces Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Provinces of South Africa amp oldid 1133883268, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
