National Council of Provinces

National Council of Provinces List 10 other official names: Nasionale Raad van Provinsies (Afrikaans) umKhandlu weNarha oNgamele iimFunda (Southern Ndebele) Bhunga leSizwe lamaPhondo (Xhosa) uMkhandlu kaZwelonke weziFundazwe (Zulu) uMkhandlu waVelonkhe wetiFundza (Swazi) Lekgotla la Bosetšhaba la Diprofense (Northern Sotho) Lekgotla la Naha la Diprofense (Sotho) Lekgotla la Bosetšhaba la Diporofense (Tswana) Huvo ya Rixaka ya Swifundzhankulu (Tsonga) Khoro ya Lushaka ya Mavunḓu (Venda)
26th South African Parliament
Type
Type	Upper house of the Parliament of South Africa
Leadership
Chairperson	Thandi Modise, ANC since 22 May 2014
Deputy Chairperson	Raseriti Tau, ANC since 22 May 2014
Leader of the Opposition	Cathlene Labuschagne, DA
Structure
Seats	90 (54 permanent, 36 special)
Political groups	ANC (33 + 27)    DA (13 + 7)    EFF (6 + 1)    Others (2 + 1)
Elections
Voting system	Indirect proportional representation from provincial legislatures
Last election	07 May 2014
Meeting place
NCOP Chamber, Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Website
National Council of Provinces

National Council of Provinces interior

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.

Composition

The NCOP comprises 90 provincial delegates, 10 delegates for each of the nine provinces regardless of the population of the province. This means that each province is likewise represented in the NCOP.

A provincial delegation contains of six permanent delegates and four special delegates. The party representation in the delegation must proportionally reflect the party representation in the provincial legislature, according to a formula included in the Constitution.

The permanent delegates are selected by the nine provincial legislatures. The four special delegates contain of the Premier of the province and three other special delegates allocated from members of the provincial legislature. They are nominated by each province from Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) and are contingent on the subject matter being considered by the NCOP. The Premier of a province is the head of the province’s delegation in the NCOP, but he or she can choose any other delegate to be in charge of the delegation in his or her absence.

Organised local government is also represented in the NCOP through the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). SALGA is permitted to 10 delegates who may partake in the debates and other activities of the NCOP, but may not vote.

After the elections of 7 May 2014, the new provincial legislatures met on 21 May to elect NCOP delegations. The delegations elected are described in the following table. Template:National Council of Provinces seat determination, 2014

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.

The NCOP has four decision-making mechanisms depending on the type of bill:

• (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.
• Bills not concerning the nine provinces (section 75 Bills); These are bills that are managed in terms of the procedure set out in section 75 of the Constitution. When considering these Bills, delegates vote as individuals and each has one vote. The Bill is approved to if the majority of delegates vote in favour of the Bill.
• Bills concerning provinces (section 76 Bills); Bills that concern the provinces are generally those that relate to areas of shared national and provincial legislative competence. The NCOP attempts to confirm these Bills at least within the six-weeks to enable active public involvement and to allow enough time for provinces to deliberate mandates on their delegations. These Bills are dealt with in provision of the procedure in section 76 of the Constitution. When deciding on Bills concerning provinces the provincial delegations vote in accordance with the mandate conferred on them by their respective provincial legislatures. Each province has one vote. A consulted 76 Bill is approved if at least five provinces vote in favour of the Bill.
• Money Bills (section 77);These are Bills which deal with appropriation of money, imposition of national taxes, levies, duties or surcharges. They are handled in terms of the procedure delineated in section 77 of the Constitution. Delegates vote individually and the Bill is agreed to if the majority of delegates votes in favour of it.

Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces

10 other official names:

Voorsitter van die Nasionale Raad van Provinsies (Afrikaans)
Usihlalo womKhandlu weNarha oNgamele iimFunda (Southern Ndebele)
uSihlalo weBhunga leSizwe lamaPhondo (Xhosa)
uSihlalo womMkhandlu kaZwelonke weziFundazwe (Zulu)
Sihlalo weMkhandlu waVelonkhe wetiFundza (Swazi)
Modulasetulo wa Lekgotla la Bosetšhaba la Diprofense (Northern Sotho)
Modulasetulo wa Lekgotla la Naha la Diprofense (Sotho)
Monnasetulo wa Lekgotla la Bosetšhaba la Diporofense (Tswana)
Mutshamaxitulu wa Huvo ya Rixaka ya Swifundzhankulu (Tsonga)

Mudzulatshidulo wa Khoro ya Lushaka ya Mavunḓu (Venda)

Further information: President of the Senate of South Africa § Chairpersons of the National Council of Provinces (1997–present)

The following people have served as Chairperson of the NCOP:

No.	Chairperson (Birth–Death)		Term of Office		Political Party
style="background:Template:African National Congress/meta/color; color:white;"| 1		Mosiuoa Lekota (1948–)	6 February 1997	21 June 1999	African National Congress
style="background:Template:African National Congress/meta/color; color:white;"| 2		Naledi Pandor (1953–)	21 June 1999	4 May 2004	African National Congress
style="background:Template:African National Congress/meta/color; color:white;"| 3		Joyce Kgoali (1950–2004)	4 May 2004	21 November 2004 (Died in office)	African National Congress
style="background:Template:African National Congress/meta/color; color:white;"| 4		Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu (1952–)	17 January 2005 Acting since 21 November 2004	22 May 2014	African National Congress
style="background:Template:African National Congress/meta/color; color:white;"| 5		Thandi Modise (1959–)	22 May 2014	Incumbent	African National Congress

See also

• Provincial legislature (South Africa)
• List of members of the National Council of Provinces
• Federalism
• National Assembly of South Africa

External links

• Parliament of South Africa: National Council of Provinces