Government of the Western Cape

Western Cape

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Western Cape

Constitution Government Premier - Helen Zille Director-General - Brent Gerber (acting) Provincial Parliament Speaker - Shahid Esau Leader of the Opposition - Lynne Brown Political Parties DA ANC COPE ID ACDP National government National Council of Provinces NCOP delegation Other Provincial Politics articles EC • FS • GP • ZN • LP • MP • NC • NW • WC Politics of South Africa

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The Government of the Western Cape (or Provincial Government of the Western Cape; PGWC) is based on a parliamentary system in which the people elect the Provincial Parliament. The parliament, in turn, chooses the Premier who leads a cabinet of ministers overseeing various executive departments. The provincial government is subject to the Constitution of the Western Cape and the Constitution of South Africa, which together form the supreme law of the province.

Parliament

Main article: Western Cape Provincial Parliament

The Western Cape Provincial Parliament, situated in Cape Town, is the legislative branch of the provincial government. The parliament is a unicameral legislature of 42 members, elected by a system of party-list proportional representation. An election is held every five years as part of the national general election.

After the election of 22 April 2009 the makeup of the parliament was as follows:

Party	Seats
Democratic Alliance	22
African National Congress	14
Congress of the People	3
Independent Democrats	2
African Christian Democratic Party	1

Executive

Provincial government building in Cape Town

The Premier of the Western Cape is the head of the provincial government; he or she is chosen by the members of the provincial parliament from amongst themselves. The Premier chooses a cabinet of ministers to oversee the various departments of the provincial government. The Director-General is the non-political head of the provincial administration, while each government department is led by a Head of Department.

The current Premier is Helen Zille of the Democratic Alliance and the Director-General is Brent Gerber. The following table lists the Provincial Ministers and the departments of the provincial government.

Ministries	Ministers	Departments
Agriculture	Gerrit van Rensburg	Agriculture
Community Safety	Dan Plato	Community Safety
Cultural Affairs and Sport	Ivan Meyer	Cultural Affairs and Sport
Education	Donald Grant	Education
Finance, Economic Development and Tourism	Alan Winde	Provincial Treasury
		Economic Development and Tourism
Health	Theuns Botha	Health
Housing	Bonginkosi Madikizela	Human Settlements
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning	Anton Bredell	Local Government
		Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
Social Development	Albert Fritz	Social Development
Transport and Public Works	Robin Carlisle	Transport and Public Works

Judiciary

Main article: Judiciary of South Africa

South Africa has a single national judiciary; there is no separate system of provincial courts. 56 Magistrates' Courts, located in towns across the province, handle less serious criminal trials and civil trials for smaller amounts. The Western Cape High Court in Cape Town handles more serious criminal trials, larger civil trials, and appeals from the Magistrates' Courts. Judgments of the High Court can be appealed to the national Supreme Court of Appeal and ultimately (if a constitutional matter is involved) to the Constitutional Court.

See also

• Government of South Africa
• Politics of the Western Cape

External links

• Western Cape Government
• Western Cape Provincial Parliament