| Background Color: | Green |
| National Council of Provinces | |
| Legislature: | 28th Parliament |
| Coa Caption: | Logo of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa |
| Coa Res: | 200px |
| House Type: | Upper house |
| Body: | Parliament of South Africa |
| Leader1 Type: | Chairperson |
| Leader1: | Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane |
| Party1: | ANC |
| Election1: | 15 June 2024 |
| Leader2 Type: | Deputy Chairperson |
| Election2: | 9 July 2024 |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Whip |
| Leader3: | Kenny Mmoiemang |
| Party3: | ANC |
| Election3: | 15 June 2024 |
| Leader4 Type: | Leader of the Opposition |
| Leader4: | TBC |
| Structure1: | South Africa NCOP 2024.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: | |
| Members: | 90 (54 permanent, 36 special) |
| Last Election1: | 13 and 14 June 2024 |
| Next Election1: | 2029 |
| Session Room: | National Council of Provinces of South Africa.jpg |
| Meeting Place: | NCOP Chamber, Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa |
| Website: | National Council of Provinces |
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.[1]
The NCOP consists of ninety delegates, ten delegates for each of the nine provinces regardless of the population of the province. Each province is equally represented in the NCOP.
A provincial delegation is composed of six permanent delegates and four special delegates. The party representation in the delegation must proportionally reflect the party representation in the provincial legislature, based on a formula included in the Constitution.
The permanent delegates are selected by the nine provincial legislatures. The four special delegates include the Premier of the province and three other delegates. They are nominated by each province from the members of the provincial legislature and are contingent on the subject matter being considered by the NCOP. The premier leads the province's delegation in the NCOP, but they can choose any of the other delegates to head the delegation in their absence.
The South African Local Government Association is also part of the NCOP. SALGA has 10 delegates who may partake in the debates and other activities, but they do not vote.
After the elections of 29 May 2024, the new provincial legislatures met on 13 and 14 June 2024 to elect NCOP delegations. The first sitting of the NCOP took place on 15 June 2024. The delegations elected are described in the following table.
| Party | Delegate type | Province | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC | FS | G | KZN | L | M | NW | NC | WC | |||||||
| bgcolor= rowspan=2 | align=left rowspan=2 | African National Congress | Permanent | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 43 | |
| Special | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 19 | |||||
| bgcolor= rowspan=2 | align=left rowspan=2 | Democratic Alliance | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 20 | |
| Special | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||||||||
| Economic Freedom Fighters | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 10 | ||||
| Special | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| bgcolor= rowspan=2 | align=left rowspan=2 | UMkhonto WeSizwe | Permanent | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 | |||||||
| Special | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||||||||||
| Freedom Front Plus | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Inkatha Freedom Party | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Special | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Patriotic Alliance | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||
| Special | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
| United Democratic Movement | Permanent | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| ActionSA | Special | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Total | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 90 | |||||
The NCOP may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject the 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:[2]
The office of President of the Senate was succeeded by the office of chairperson of the National Council of Provinces in 1997. The inaugural holder of the position was Mosiuoa Lekota. He served as chairperson from 1997 to 1999. The chairperson is elected from the permanent delegates for a five-year term. The election of the chairperson is presided over by the Chief Justice of South Africa. The Chief Justice can, however, designate another judge to preside. The chairperson, in turn, presides over the other elections that takes place in the chamber. The legislative body also elects a permanent deputy chairperson. A second deputy chairperson is elected for a one-year term. The position rotates between the nine provinces, enabling the provinces to have its members elected second deputy chairpersos.,
The chairperson chairs all the sittings of the National Council of the Provinces. If the chairperson is not present at the sittings, the deputy chairperson or House Chairpersons can preside over the sitting of the chamber.[3]
The current chairperson is Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane who took office on 15 June 2024. The following people have served as chairperson of the NCOP:
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Political party | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | Mosiuoa Lekota | 6 February 1997 | 21 June 1999 | African National Congress | |||
| 2 | Naledi Pandor | 21 June 1999 | 4 May 2004 | African National Congress | |||
| 3 | Joyce Kgoali | 4 May 2004 | 21 November 2004 | African National Congress | |||
| 4 | Mninwa Johannes Mahlangu | 17 January 2005 | 22 May 2014 | African National Congress | |||
| 5 | Thandi Modise | 22 May 2014 | 22 May 2019 | years | African National Congress | ||
| 6 | Amos Masondo | 23 May 2019 | 28 May 2024 | African National Congress | |||
| 7 | Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane | 15 June 2024 | Incumbent | African National Congress | |||
The chairperson of the committees is appointed by the members of the legislature. The position holds the following roles, including presiding over the meeting of the committee of chairpersons, approve the budget and expenditures of the committees and to preside over sittings of the House, when requested or when the chairperson and deputy chairperson are not available.
Whips represent their individual parties' interests and ensure the discipline of their members. They also ensure that their parties function effectively. There are two Chief Whips who are official office bearers, the Chief Whip of the majority party and the Chief Whip of the largest opposition party. The smaller parties have Senior Whips assisted by a number of whips. The Chief Whips are formally appointed by the chairperson. The Chief Whip of the majority party is responsible for the detailed arrangement of the legislative business.[4]
The position is designated to the leader of the largest opposition party in the legislature. Cathlene Labuschagne of the Democratic Alliance has been serving as Leader of the Opposition since her election in September 2016.