Federalism in South Africa

Federalism in South Africa refers to the idea that the national government should be subordinate to the provinces.

In 1949 the historian Arthur Keppel-Jones wrote Friends or Foes? A point of view and a programme for racial harmony in South Africa, which claimed that devolution into federalist states would promote harmonious relations between the different population groups of South Africa. Several decades later, in 1974, the Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith, which stressed the federal concept, was signed. In 1977 the Progressive Federal Party was started, which advocated power-sharing through a federal constitution. Today, the political parties which advocate a federal system for South Africa, are the Democratic Alliance (the successor of the New National Party) and the Inkatha Freedom Party.

## Current legislative competence

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### Concurrent national and provincial legislative competence (Schedule 4 to the Constitution)

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* Administration of indigenous forests
* Agriculture
* Airports other than international and national airports
* Animal control and diseases
* Casinos, racing, gambling and wagering, excluding lotteries and sports pools
* Consumer protection
* Cultural matters
* Disaster management
* Education at all levels, excluding tertiary education
* Environment
* Health services
* Housing
* Indigenous law and customary law, subject to Chapter 12 of the Constitution
* Industrial promotion
* Language policy and the regulation of official languages
* Media services directly controlled or provided by the provincial government
* Nature conservation, excluding national parks, national botanical gardens and marine resources[1]
* Police
* Pollution control
* Population development
* Property transfer fees

#### Local government matters

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* Air pollution
* Building regulations
* Child care facilities
* Electricity and gas reticulation
* Firefighting services
* Local tourism
* Municipal airports
* Municipal planning
* Municipal health services
* Municipal public transport
* Municipal public works only in respect of the needs of municipalities in the discharge of their responsibilities to administer functions specifically assigned to them under this Constitution or any other law
* Pontoons, ferries, jetties, piers and harbours, excluding the regulation of international and national shipping and matters related thereto
* Stormwater management systems in built-up areas
* Trading regulations
* Water and sanitation services limited to potable water supply systems and domestic waste-water and sewage disposal systems

### Exclusive provincial legislative competence (Schedule 5 to the Constitution)

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* Abattoirs
* Ambulance services
* Archives other than national archives
* Libraries other than national libraries
* Liquor licences
* Museums other than national museums
* Provincial planning
* Provincial cultural matters
* Provincial recreation and amenities
* Provincial sport
* Provincial roads and traffic
* Veterinary services, excluding regulation of the profession

#### Local government matters

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* Beaches and amusement facilities
* Billboards and the display of advertisements in public places
* Cemeteries, funeral parlours and crematoria
* Cleansing
* Control of public nuisances
* Control of undertakings that sell liquor to the public
* Facilities for the accommodation, care and burial of animals
* Fencing and fences
* Licensing of dogs
* Licensing and control of undertakings that sell food to the public
* Local amenities
* Local sport facilities
* Markets
* Municipal abattoirs
* Municipal parks and recreation
* Municipal roads
* Noise pollution
* Pounds
* Public places
* Refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal
* Street trading
* Street lighting
* Traffic and parking

## Further developments

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The Democratic Alliance has suggested that certain policing powers should be devolved to the provinces.[2] The African National Congress has repeatedly equated federalism to Apartheid.[3]

## References

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1. ^ Blackmore, Andrew (1 January 2022). "Concurrent national and provincial legislative competence: Rethinking the relationship between nature reserves and national parks". Law, Democracy and Development. 26: 26–47\. doi:10.17159/2077-4907/2021/ldd.v26.2. ISSN 2077-4907.
2. ^ Mkhwanazi, Siyabonga. "ANC slams DA for holding virtual public hearings on Provincial Powers Bill". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
3. ^ Erasmus, Des (4 April 2024). "Federalism is not Apartheid". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2025.

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Constitution of South Africa

Preamble

Chapters|

* 1: Founding Provisions
* 2: Bill of Rights
* 3: Co-operative Government
* 4: Parliament
* 5: President and National Executive
* §83-84, §86-90
* §85, §92, §101-102
* §91, §93-99
* §95
* §100
* 6: Provinces
* 7: Local Government
* 8: Courts and Administration of Justice
* 9: State Institutions supporting Constitutional Democracy
* 10: Public Administration
* 11: Security Services
* §198-199
* §200-204
* §205-208
* §209-210
* 12: Traditional Leaders
* 13: Finance
* 14: General Provisions

Schedules|

* 1: National Flag
* 2: Oaths & Solemn Affirmations
* 3: Election Procedures
* 4: Functional Areas of Concurrent National and Provincial Legislative Competence
* 5: Functional Areas of Exclusive Provincial Legislative Competence
* 6: Transitional Arrangements
* 7: Laws Repealed

Amendments|

* First
* Second
* Third
* Fourth
* Fifth
* Sixth
* Seventh
* Eighth
* Ninth
* Tenth
* Eleventh
* Twelfth
* Thirteenth
* Fourteenth
* Fifteenth
* Sixteenth
* Seventeenth
* Eighteenth

Previous|

* South Africa Act 1909
* Constitution Act, 1961
* Constitution Act, 1983
* Interim Constitution, 1993

Related|

* Constitutional Court
* Chapter nine institutions
* Negotiations to end apartheid
* Citation of Constitutional Laws Act

Text of the Constitution

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Politics of South Africa

By province|

* Eastern Cape
* Free State
* Gauteng
* KwaZulu-Natal
* Limpopo
* Mpumalanga
* North West
* Northern Cape
* Western Cape

Flag of South Africa

Political
movements|

| Ideologies|

* African nationalism
* Afrikaner nationalism
* Anarchism
* Anti-war
* Black consciousness
* Environmentalism
* Federalism
* Feminism
* Liberalism
* Pan-Africanism
* Non-racialism
* Trotskyism

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Political parties|

see South Africa political parties

Other political
organisations|

* AfriForum
* Afrikanerbond
* Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB)
* Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA)
* Congress of South African Students (COSAS)
* Earthlife Africa
* Keep Left
* Khanya College
* Koeberg Alert
* Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP)
* People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD)
* South African Liberal Students' Association (SALSA)
* South African Students Congress (SASCO)
* South African Wine Initiative
* Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF)

Trade unions and
Social movements|

see South Africa trade unions

* Equal Education
* Mandela Park Backyarders
* People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP)
* Poor People's Alliance
* Abahlali baseMjondolo
* Landless Peoples Movement
* Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign
* Reclaim the City
* Social Justice Coalition
* Treatment Action Campaign
* Unemployed Peoples' Movement

Law|

see South African law

Political culture|

* African Renaissance
* Alternative media
* Azania
* Corruption
* (Don't) touch me on my studio
* Freedom Charter
* Proudly South African
* Rainbow nation
* Renaming
* Tenderpreneurs
* Toyi-toyi
* Ubuntu
* UnFreedom Day
* White monopoly capital
* Ungovernability
* Xenophobia

* Anti-Chinese sentiment
* Anti-Indian sentiment

| Slogans|

* "Amandla Ngawethu!"
* "No Land! No House! No Vote!"
* "Dubul' ibhunu" (Shoot the Boer)
* "One Settler, One Bullet"
* "Each One, Teach One"

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Books and
periodicals|

* African Communist
* Amandla
* ANC Today
* Biko
* I Write What I Like
* Long Walk to Freedom
* Molotov Cocktail
* No Land! No House! No Vote!

Other|

* Corrective rape
* Crime
* Cape Independence
* Elections
* e-tolling
* Farm attacks
* Gupta family
* HIV/AIDS
* Labour brokering
* Land occupations
* Legacies of apartheid
* Lindela
* Phala Phala robbery
* Political assassinations
* Political repression
* Protests
* Sexual violence
* Shack fires
* Terrorism
* Third Force

Category

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Federalism in Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

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