SOUTH AFRICA'S LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM

Early history
Colonisation
HISTORY Apartheid era
Post apartheid era

GOVERNMENT Structure and functions

LEGIISLATIVE SYSTEM TODAY National Assembly

National Council of Provinces
Law Making
 HISTORY
Early history and Colonisation
Variety of ethnic and linguistic groups:
Khokhoe West semi nomadic pastoralists,
Xhosa, Basotho, Nguni, Twana East

1487 → Portuguese sailors crossed Southern Africa to pass into the Indian ocean
1652 → The Dutch officially founded Cape Colony.
French Revolution → Napoleonic era → Holland passed under the control of France

1795 → The British seized the Cape

1803 → The Cape is relinquished back to the Dutch
1806 → The Cape is ceded to Britain
1820 → British settlers arrive in Port Elizabeth
1834-38 → Formal abolition of slavery
1835-1840 - Boers leave Cape Colony in the 'Great Trek' and found the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.
1852 - British grant limited self-government to the Transvaal.
1856 - Natal separates from the Cape Colony.
Late 1850s - Boers proclaim the Transvaal a republic.
1867 - Diamonds discovered at Kimberley.
1877 - Britain annexes the Transvaal.
1879 - British defeat the Zulus in Natal.
1880-81 - Boers rebel against the British, sparking the first Anglo-Boer War. Conflict ends with a negotiated peace. Transvaal is
restored as a republic.
1880s - Gold is discovered in the Transvaal, triggering the gold rush.
1899 - British troops gather on the Transvaal border and ignore an ultimatum to disperse. The second Anglo-Boer War begins.
1902 - Treaty of Vereeniging ends the second Anglo-Boer War. The Transvaal and Orange Free State are made self-governing colonies
of the British Empire.
1910 - Formation of Union of South Africa by former British colonies of the Cape and Natal, the Boer republics of Transvaal, and
Orange Free State.
1934 - The Union of South Africa parliament enacts the Status of the Union Act, which declares the country to be "a sovereign
independent state". The move followed on from Britain's passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which removed the last
vestiges of British legal authority over South Africa.
 Apartheid era (1948)
Racial classification:
This classification determined people's legal rights and opportunities,
and segregation was enforced in all aspects of life.
Discriminatory laws:
-Group Areas Act forced non-whites to live in designated areas
-Population Registration Act classified people by race
-Bantu Education Act substandard education to black students).
Limited political rights:
Non-white South Africans were denied the right to vote and had
limited political representation.
Forced removals:
Millions of non-whites forcibly removed from their homes and
communities, often to make way for white settlements or industries.
Repression and violence:
The government used violence and repression to maintain the
Apartheid system, including the detention and torture of political
activists and the use of deadly force against protesters.
Post-Apartheid era (1994)
The Constitution (1996)
- provisions for a bill of rights, an independent judiciary, and a
multi-party democracy.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1995)
- tasked with investigating and documenting human rights violations
that occurred between 1960 and 1994, and provided amnesty to
those who made full disclosure of their crimes.
Land reform:
Land reform initiatives include the redistribution of land from white
to black farmers, as well as efforts to address the historical
dispossession of indigenous people.
Black economic empowerment:
Affirmative action, black economic empowerment schemes, and
support for small and medium-sized enterprises owned by black
South Africans.
Reconciliation and nation-building:
Efforts to promote national unity, heal the wounds of the past, and
build a common South African identity that transcends racial
divisions.
 GOVERNMENT

Constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary.

National
provincial
Local
] legislative and executive authority
in their own sphere

Traditional leaders --> Advisory bodies

It is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country be run on a system of cooperative
governance. Government is committed to the building of a free, non-racial, non-sexist,
democratic, united and successful South Africa.
Legislative authority
Parliament (national)
• National Assembly
(350 – 400 members)
• National Council of Provinces
(90 delegates)
Legislative authority (provincial)
Provincial Legislature
Judicial authority
Courts including the:
President Cyril Ramaphosa Deputy president Paul Mashatile
• Constitutional Court
Executive authority • Supreme Court of Appeal
• High courts
Cabinet (national) • Magistrates' courts
• President
• Deputy president
• Ministers
Executive authority (provincial)
Executive council
• Premier
• Members of the Executive Council
 THE LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM TODAY
PARLIAMENT
Parliament is the legislative authority of South Africa and has the power to make laws for the country, in accordance with the Constitution. It consists of the National
Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Parliamentary sittings are open to the public.
Members of Parliament (MPs) elect the President
 provide a national forum for the public consideration of issues
pass legislation
scrutinise and oversee executive action.
Parliament’s policy priorities set out long-term policy and outcomes. These are aligned with the priorities and outcomes of the National Development Plan (NDP).

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES (NCOP)

elected to represent the people and to ensure democratic
governance as required by the Constitution.
consists of no fewer than 350 and no more than 400 members
elected through a system of proportional representation.
elected for a term of five years
presided over by the Speaker, assisted by the Deputy Speaker.
is mandated to represent the provinces to ensure that provincial interests
are taken into account in the national sphere of government.
consists of 90 provincial delegates (10 delegates for each of the nine
provinces).
provincial delegation consists of six permanent delegates and four special
delegates. The permanent delegates, who are appointed by the nine provincial
legislatures, are based at Parliament in Cape Town.
 LAW MAKING
Section 43(a) of the Constitution vests the legislative authority of the national sphere of government in Parliament.
This confers on the National Assembly the power to

] ]
consider
initiate
pass any legislation legislation, except Money Bills.
prepare .
amend before the National Assembly
reject

It also confers on the National Council of Provinces the power to

] ]
consider
initiate legislation falling within a functional area listed in Schedule 4
pass
prepare of the Constitution or other legislation referred to in section
amend any legislation before the council
76(3), except Money Bills .
propose amendments
.
reject

The Constitution distinguishes between four categories of Bills:

Bills amending the Constitution (section 74)
Ordinary Bills not affecting provinces (section 75)
Ordinary Bills affecting provinces (section 76)
Money Bills (section 77)
 Reference list
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south-african-history-timeline-1800s
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Natasha. (2022, March 4). A brief history of colonists in South Africa. Noire Histoir. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from http://noirehistoir.com/blog/a-brief-history-
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