Provincial and Local Government in South African Law
Intervention
Provincial and local government
National government intervening in provincial government * The national government is given overall responsibility for ensuring that other spheres of government carry out their obligations under the constitution * Where a province cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of legislation or the constitution, the national executive can intervene by taking appropriate steps to ensure the fulfilment of that obligation including a) Issuing a directive to the provincial executive, describing the extent of the failure to fulfil its obligations and stating any steps required to meet its obligations b) Assuming responsibility for the relevant obligation in that province to the extent necessary to maintain essential national standards, or to meet established minimum standards for the rendering of a service or to maintain economic unity, or to maintain national security or to prevent the province from taking unreasonable action that is prejudicial to the interests of another province or to the country as a whole * if the national executive intervenes in a province, notice of the intervention must be tabled in the National Council of Provinces within 14 days of the NCoP’s first sitting after the intervention first began * the intervention must end unless it is approved by the NCoP within 30 days and the NCoP must review the intervention regularly and may make appropriate recommendations to the national exective * national legislation may further regulate the process of intervention * s100 (1) is subject to the constitution’s provisions relating to co-operative government * s100 (1) also does not allow the national government to interfere where a province properly carries out its executive obligations. It serves the limited purpose of enabling the national government to take appropriate executive action in circumstances where this is required because a provincial government is
Provincial and local government
National government intervening in provincial government * The national government is given overall responsibility for ensuring that other spheres of government carry out their obligations under the constitution * Where a province cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of legislation or the constitution, the national executive can intervene by taking appropriate steps to ensure the fulfilment of that obligation including a) Issuing a directive to the provincial executive, describing the extent of the failure to fulfil its obligations and stating any steps required to meet its obligations b) Assuming responsibility for the relevant obligation in that province to the extent necessary to maintain essential national standards, or to meet established minimum standards for the rendering of a service or to maintain economic unity, or to maintain national security or to prevent the province from taking unreasonable action that is prejudicial to the interests of another province or to the country as a whole * if the national executive intervenes in a province, notice of the intervention must be tabled in the National Council of Provinces within 14 days of the NCoP’s first sitting after the intervention first began * the intervention must end unless it is approved by the NCoP within 30 days and the NCoP must review the intervention regularly and may make appropriate recommendations to the national exective * national legislation may further regulate the process of intervention * s100 (1) is subject to the constitution’s provisions relating to co-operative government * s100 (1) also does not allow the national government to interfere where a province properly carries out its executive obligations. It serves the limited purpose of enabling the national government to take appropriate executive action in circumstances where this is required because a provincial government is