# Provincial Government Act, 1961

When most of the provisions of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961, were repealed on 3 September 1984 by the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, some sections relating to provincial government were kept in force, under the new title of the Provincial Government Act, 1961. The system of provincial councils, executive councils and Administrators introduced by the 1961 constitution, and indeed inherited from the South Africa Act before that, was therefore continued mostly unchanged under the 1983 constitution. However, this situation only lasted until 1 July 1986, when the Provincial Government Act, 1986 came into effect, repealing most of the 1961 act, abolishing the provincial councils and giving the State President the power to appoint provincial executive councils. The last remaining provisions of the act were repealed on 27 April 1994 by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993.
This is the text as it was when the 1983 Constitution came into force. A series of other versions incorporating further amendments are also available on Wikisource.
Act
To provide for provincial councils and their powers and the administration of provincial matters, and for matters connected therewith.
as amended by
Provincial Executive Committees Act, No. 28 of 1962 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 65 of 1962 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 9 of 1963 Provincial Councils and Executive Committees Act, No. 22 of 1963 Coloured Persons Education Act, No. 47 of 1963 Provincial Executive Committees Act, No. 64 of 1963 Indians Education Act, No. 61 of 1965 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 83 of 1965 Pension Laws Amendment Act, No. 102 of 1965 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 37 of 1966 Second Finance Act, No. 58 of 1966 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 9 of 1967 Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, No. 50 of 1968 Pension Laws Amendment Act, No. 79 of 1968 Powers and Privileges of Provincial Councils Amendment Act, No. 37 of 1969 General Law Amendment Act, No. 101 of 1969 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 1 of 1971 Pension Laws Amendment Act, No. 93 of 1971 Provincial Finance and Audit Act, No. 18 of 1972 Provincial Affairs Act, No. 61 of 1972 General Law Amendment Act, No. 102 of 1972 Constitution and Elections Amendment Act, No. 79 of 1973 General Law Amendment Act, No. 62 of 1973 Parliamentary Service Act, No. 33 of 1974 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 48 of 1974 Second Pension Laws Amendment Act, No. 77 of 1974 Exchequer and Audit Act, No. 66 of 1975 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 60 of 1976 Financial Relations Act, No. 65 of 1976 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 30 of 1977 Proclamation No. R. 249 of 1977 Second Black Laws Amendment Act, No. 102 of 1978 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 99 of 1979 Pension Laws Amendment Act, No. 100 of 1979 Republic of South Africa Constitution Third Amendment Act, No. 28 of 1980 Republic of South Africa Constitution Second Amendment Act, No. 31 of 1980 Railways and Harbours Acts Amendment Act, No. 67 of 1980 Republic of South Africa Constitution Amendment Act, No. 70 of 1980 Republic of South Africa Constitution Fourth Amendment Act, No. 74 of 1980 Republic of South Africa Constitution Fifth Amendment Act, No. 101 of 1980 Republic of South Africa Constitution Amendment Act, No. 40 of 1981 Republic of South Africa Constitution Second Amendment Act, No. 101 of 1981 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 99 of 1982 Provincial Affairs Act, No. 88 of 1983 Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, No. 110 of 1983 Constitution Amendment Act, No. 105 of 1984
Part VI.
The Provinces.
Administrators.
66. (1) In each province there shall be a chief executive officer appointed by the State President who shall be known as the administrator of the province, and in whose name all executive acts relating to provincial affairs therein shall be done.
(2) In the appointment of the administrator of any province, the State President shall as far as practicable give preference to persons resident in such province.
(3) An administrator shall hold office for a period of five years and shall not be removed from office before the expiration thereof except by the State President for cause assigned which shall be communicated by message to the Houses of Parliament within one week after the removal, if Parliament is in session, or, if Parliament is not in session, within one week after the commencement of the next ensuing session.
(4) The State President may from time to time appoint a deputy-administrator to execute the office and functions of the administrator during his absence or illness or whenever for any reason he is unable to perform the duties of his office, or while the appointment of an administrator for the province concerned is pending.
(5) If any person has during any period before or after the commencement of this subsection executed the office and functions of an administrator in any of the circumstances referred to in subsection (4) without having been or before having been appointed as deputy administrator, the State President may appoint him as deputy administrator under the lastmentioned subsection with retrospective effect for the said period or for a period including the said period.
67. The salaries and allowances of the administrators shall be fixed by the State President and shall not be reduced during their respective terms of office.
Provincial Councils.
68. (1) There shall be a provincial council in each province consisting of the same number of members as are elected in the province for the House of Assembly under the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983: Provided that, in any province whose representatives in the House of Assembly are fewer than twenty in number, the provincial council shall consist of twice as many members as the number of representatives of that province in the House of Assembly.
(2) Any person qualified to vote for the election of members of a provincial council under this Act shall be qualified to be a member of such council under this Act.
(3) Any provincial council constituted as provided in section seventy of the South Africa Act, 1909, and in existence immediately prior to the commencement of this Act, shall be deemed to have been duly constituted as provided in this Act.
69. (1) The members of a provincial council under this Act shall be elected by the persons qualified to vote for the election of members of the House of Assembly in the province voting in the same electoral divisions as are delimited for the election of members of the House of Assembly under the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983: Provided that, in any province in which fewer than twenty members are elected to the House of Assembly, the delimitation of the electoral divisions for the purposes of the election of members of the provincial council shall be effected by the same commission and on the same principles as are prescribed in regard to the electoral divisions of the House of Assembly and in such a manner that each electoral division of the House of Assembly in the said province is divided into two electoral divisions of the provincial council, each containing, subject to the provisions of section 49 (3) of that Act, a number of voters as nearly as may be equal to one half of the number of voters in that electoral division of the House of Assembly.
(2) Any alteration in the number of members of the provincial council, and any re-division of the province into electoral divisions, shall, in respect of the election of members of the provincial council, come into operation at the next general election for such council held after the completion of such re-division or of any allocation consequent upon such alteration, and not earlier.
(3) The election in all the electoral divisions in the provinces shall take place on one and the same day and such day shall be appointed by the State President.
(4) Any person who immediately prior to the commencement of this Act holds office as a member of the provincial council by virtue of an election held as provided in section seventy-one of the South Africa Act, 1909, shall be deemed to have been elected to the corresponding provincial council established by this Act.
70. (1) The provisions of section 54, section 55 (1) and (2) (a) and section 56 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, shall apply mutatis mutandis to members of provincial councils as they are applicable to members of the House of Assembly.
(2) Any member of a provincial council who becomes a member of the House of Assembly shall cease to be a member of such provincial council.
71. (1) (a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) a provincial council shall continue for five years from the date of its first meeting, but the State President may at any time by proclamation in the Gazette dissolve all provincial councils with effect from the same date.
(b) Should a provincial council dissolve by effluxion of time on a date during the existence of the House of Assembly, the State President may by proclamation in the Gazette extend the duration of that provincial council by a period not exceeding eighteen months: Provided that if the House of Assembly is dissolved on a date before the expiration of the said period, that provincial council may be dissolved by the State President by proclamation in the Gazette on the last-mentioned date.
(2) The provisions of section 40 of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, in so far as it relates to the tenure of office of the members and the functioning of the House of Assembly upon a dissolution thereof, and to the summoning of Parliament after it has been dissolved, shall mutatis mutandis apply with reference to a dissolution and summoning of any provincial council.
72. (1) The administrator of a province shall by proclamation in the Official Gazette of that province fix such times for holding the sessions of the provincial council of that province as he may think fit, and may from time to time prorogue such council: Provided that there shall be a session of every provincial council once at least in every year so that a period of twelve months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the council in one session and its first sitting in the next session.
(2) If immediately before the commencement of this Act any provincial council constituted under the South Africa Act, 1909, is in session by virtue of a proclamation issued under section seventy-four of that Act, that session shall be resumed from a date after such commencement to be determined before such commencement by resolution of that council in the same manner as if it were a session of the corresponding provincial council established by this Act for the holding of which the time had been duly fixed in terms of this Act.
73. (1) The provincial council shall elect from among its members a chairman, and may make rules for the conduct of its proceedings.
(2) Rules made under sub-section (1) shall be transmitted by the administrator to the State President, and shall have full force and effect unless and until the State President expresses his disapproval thereof in writing addressed to the administrator.
74. The members of the provincial council other than members who are also members of the executive committee shall receive such allowances as shall be determined by the State President.
75. The powers, privileges and immunities of a provincial council and of the members and committees of a provincial council shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be such as are declared by Parliament.
Executive Committees.
76. (1) Each provincial council shall at its first meeting after any general election elect from among its members, or otherwise, four persons to form with the administrator, who shall be chairman, an executive committee for the province.
(2) A member of the executive committee other than the administrator shall hold office until the constitution of an executive committee in terms of subsection (1) after a general election, unless he is removed from office sooner by a resolution of the provincial council.
(3) (a) The members so elected shall receive such remuneration as the State President shall determine.
(b) There shall be no differentiation as regards the remuneration determined under paragraph (a) in respect of the members of the various executive committees except to the extent that the remuneration of such members who in the opinion of the State President perform full time service may differ from the remuneration of such members who in his opinion do not perform full time service.
(4) (a) A member of the provincial council shall not forfeit his seat by reason of his having been elected as a member of the executive committee.
(b) A member of the executive committee shall not be disqualified from being elected or nominated as a member of the House of Assembly or the provincial council.
(c) A member of the executive committee who becomes a member of the House of Assembly shall cease to be a member of the executive committee with effect from the date on which he becomes a member of the House of Assembly.
(d) A member of the executive committee shall not be disqualified from being appointed as deputy-administrator under sub-section (4) of section sixty-six and any such member so appointed shall as from the termination of the appointment resume his office and functions as a member of such executive committee unless his successor has in the meantime been elected under the provisions of sub-section (1) of this section.
(5) Any casual vacancy arising in the executive committee shall be filled by election by the provincial council if in session, or, if the council is not in session, by a person appointed by the executive committee to hold office temporarily pending an election by the council.
77. (1) Members of the executive committee of a province shall be elected by majority vote, each voter having one non-transferable vote for every member of that committee to be elected.
(2) If two or more persons who at any election of members of an executive committee are candidates for the same seat, receive the same number of votes, a re-election of a member for that seat shall be held forthwith according to that principle of proportional representation according to which each voter has one transferable vote, and if at such re-election the said persons again receive the same number of votes, one of the said persons to be determined by the drawing of lots shall be deemed to have been elected as the member for that seat.
(3) The State President may make regulations in regard to the election of members of the executive committee of a province under this section, including regulations in regard to the duties of returning officers in connection with such elections and in regard to the drawing of lots under the circumstances contemplated in subsection (2).
78. The administrator and any other member of the executive committee of a province, not being a member of the provincial council, shall have the right to take part in the proceedings of the council, but shall not have the right to vote: Provided that a member of the executive committee who is a member of the provincial council, and who is appointed as a deputy-administrator under the provisions of subsection (4) of section sixty-six, shall during the period of his appointment retain the right to vote as a member of the provincial council.
79. (1) The executive committee shall on behalf of the provincial council carry on the administration of provincial affairs.
(2) Whenever there are not sufficient members of the executive committee to form a quorum according to the rules of the committee, the administrator shall as soon as practicable convene a meeting of the provincial council for the purpose of electing members to fill the vacancies, and until such election the administrator shall carry on the administration of provincial affairs.
80. Subject to the provisions of this Act, all powers, authorities and functions which immediately prior to the commencement of this Act were vested in or exercised by the executive committee of a province in terms of the South Africa Act, 1909, shall as far as the same continue in existence and are capable of being exercised after the commencement of this Act, be vested in the corresponding executive committee established under this Act, except in so far as such powers are assigned to a Minister by the State President under the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983.
81. (1) Questions arising in the executive committee shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present, and, in case of an equality of votes, the administrator shall have also a casting vote.
(2) Subject to the approval of the State President, the executive committee may make rules for the conduct of its proceedings.
82. Subject to the provisions of any law passed by Parliament regulating the conditions of appointment, tenure of office, retirement and superannuation of public officers, the executive committee shall have power to appoint such officers as may be necessary, in addition to officers assigned to the province by the State President under the provisions of this Act, to carry out the services entrusted to it and to make and enforce regulations for the organization and discipline of such officers.
83. In regard to all matters in respect of which no powers are reserved or delegated to the provincial council, the administrator shall act on behalf of the State President when required to do so, and in such matters the administrator may act without reference to the other members of the executive committee.
Powers of Provincial Councils.
84. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Financial Relations Act, 1976 (Act No. 65 of 1976), and the assent of the State President as hereinafter provided, and except in so far as the provisions of Part IV of the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983, have under section 98 (3) (a) of the last-mentioned Act been declared to apply to any ordinance or other law of the province, a provincial council may make ordinances in relation to matters coming within the following classes of subjects, namely—
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(i)
(ii)
(fA)
(fB)
(fC)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
(l)
(m)
(2) An ordinance passed by a provincial council in relation to any matter referred to in paragraph (f) of subsection (1) may provide―
(a)
(b)
85. Any ordinance made by a provincial council shall have effect in and for the province as long and as far only as it is not repugnant to any Act of Parliament.
86. A provincial council may recommend to Parliament the passing of any law relating to any matter in respect of which such council is not competent to make ordinances.
87. In regard to any matter which requires to be dealt with by means of a private Act of Parliament, the provincial council of the province to which the matter relates may, subject to such procedure as may be prescribed by Parliament, take evidence by means of a select committee or otherwise for and against the passing of such law, and, upon receipt of a report from such council, together with the evidence upon which it is founded, Parliament may pass such Act without further evidence being taken in support thereof.
88. (1) There shall in every province be a provincial revenue fund into which shall be paid all revenues as defined in section 1 of the Provincial Finance and Audit Act, 1972.
(2) No moneys shall be withdrawn from a provincial revenue fund except in accordance with an Act of Parliament.
(3) The administrator of a province may, subject to the laws relating to education, authorize every educational institution in the province which is specified in a list published by the State President by proclamation in the Gazette, to retain and apply such of its revenues and other moneys received by it, as the administrator may from time to time determine, for the purpose of meeting its expenditure, and such revenues and other moneys shall, notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (1), not to be paid into the provincial revenue fund, but shall be accounted for and dealt with as the administrator may prescribe.
89. (1) When a proposed ordinance has been passed by a provincial council it shall be presented by the administrator to the State President for his assent.
(2) The State President shall declare within one month from the presentation to him of the proposed ordinance that he assents thereto, or that he withholds assent, or that he reserves the proposed ordinance for further consideration.
(3) A proposed ordinance so reserved shall not have any force unless and until, within one year from the day on which it was presented to the State President he makes known by proclamation in the Gazette that it has received his assent.
90. (1) An ordinance assented to by the State President and promulgated by the administrator shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have the force of law within the province.
(2) The administrator shall cause two fair copies of every such ordinance, one being in the English and the other in the Afrikaans language (one of which copies shall have been signed by the State President), to be enrolled of record in the office of the Registrar of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa, and such copies shall be conclusive evidence as to the provisions of such ordinance, and, in case of conflict between the two copies so enrolled, that signed by the State President shall prevail.
92. Notwithstanding anything in this Act contained, all powers, authorities and functions lawfully exercised at the commencement of this Act by divisional or municipal councils, or any other duly constituted local authority or body contemplated in paragraph (vi) of section eighty-five of the South Africa Act, 1909, shall be and remain in force until varied or withdrawn by Parliament or by a provincial council having power in that behalf.
93. The seats of provincial government shall be―
| For the Cape of Good Hope | Cape Town. |
| For Natal | Pietermaritzburg. |
| For the Transvaal | Pretoria. |
| For the Orange Free State | Bloemfontein. |
Part IX.
General.
110. Whenever anything is published in a newspaper by or under the directions of the administration of a province, the publication shall take place simultaneously in both official languages and in the case of each language in a newspaper which appears mainly in that language, and the publication in each language shall as far as practicable occupy the same amount of space: Provided that where any newspaper appears substantially in both of the official languages, publication in both languages may take place in that newspaper.
114. Parliament shall not―
(a)
(b)
119. In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates―
“province” means any of the provinces incorporated in the Union of South Africa by the South Africa Act, 1909;
“Republic” means the Republic of South Africa.
120. (1) The laws specified in the Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent set out in the third column of the Schedule.
(2) Any authority constituted or person appointed or power conferred or anything done in pursuance of powers conferred by or by virtue of any provision of any law repealed by sub-section (1) shall be deemed to have been constituted, appointed, conferred or done in pursuance of powers conferred by or by virtue of the corresponding provision of this Act.
121. This Act shall be called the Provincial Government Act, 1961.
Schedule.
Laws Repealed.
| No. and Year of Law. | Title. | Extent of Repeal. |
| 9 Edward VII, Ch. 9. | The South Africa Act, 1909. | The whole, except sections fifty-six, one hundred and fifteen, one hundred and fifty and one hundred and fifty-one and the Schedule. |
| Act No. 9 of 1920. | Constitution of the Senate Act, 1920. | The whole. |
| Act No. 8 of 1925. | Official Languages of the Union Act, 1925. | The whole. |
| Act No. 9 of 1925. | South Africa Act, 1909, Amendment Act, 1925. | The whole. |
| Act No. 34 of 1925. | South Africa Act, 1909, Further Amendment Act, 1925. | The whole. |
| Act No. 1 of 1926. | Local Government (Provincial Powers) Act, 1926. | Section one. |
| Act No. 51 of 1926. | Payment of Members of Parliament Act, 1926. | The whole. |
| Act No. 54 of 1926. | Senate Act, 1926. | The whole. |
| Act No. 40 of 1927. | Flags Act, 1927. | The whole. |
| Act No. 21 of 1932. | Salaries Reduction Act, 1932. | Sections four and five. |
| Act No. 17 of 1933. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1933. | The whole. |
| Act No. 29 of 1933. | Financial Adjustments Act, 1933. | Section two. |
| Act No. 45 of 1934. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1934. | The whole. |
| Act No. 69 of 1934. | Status of the Union Act, 1934. | The whole. |
| Act No. 70 of 1934. | Royal Executive Functions and Seals Act, 1934. | The whole. |
| Act No. 5 of 1935. | Census Amendment Act, 1935. | The whole. |
| Act No. 43 of 1935. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1935. | The whole. |
| Act No. 15 of 1936. | Deputy-Administrators Act, 1936. | The whole. |
| Act No. 2 of 1937. | His Majesty King Edward the Eighth’s Abdication Act, 1937. | The whole. |
| Act No. 7 of 1937. | Coronation Oath Act, 1937. | The whole. |
| Act No. 13 of 1938. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1938. | The whole. |
| Act No. 42 of 1939. | Senate Act, 1939. | The whole. |
| Act No. 19 of 1940. | Constitution (Prevention of Disabilities) Act, 1940. | Sections one, two and three. |
| Act No. 20 of 1940. | Electoral Laws Amendment Act, 1940. | The whole. |
| Act No. 30 of 1942. | Electoral Quota Consolidation Act, 1942. | The whole. |
| [Reference to Act No. 38 of 1945 deleted by s. 32 of Act No. 65 of 1976.] |||
| Act No. 21 of 1946. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1946. | The whole. |
| Act No. 41 of 1947. | Provincial Powers Extension Act, 1947. | Sections one, two and three. |
| Act No. 16 of 1948. | Powers and Privileges of Provincial Councils Act, 1948. | Section fourteen. |
| Act No. 17 of 1948. | Royal Style and Titles Act, 1948. | The whole. |
| Act No. 2 of 1949. | Deputy-Administrators Act, 1949. | The whole. |
| Act No. 39 of 1950. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1950. | The whole. |
| Act No. 66 of 1951. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1951. | The whole. |
| Act No. 35 of 1952. | High Court of Parliament Act, 1952. | The whole. |
| Act No. 55 of 1952. | Electoral Laws Amendment Act, 1952. | Section one. |
| Act No. 6 of 1953. | Royal Style and Titles Act, 1953. | The whole. |
| Act No. 10 of 1953. | Members of Parliament Act, 1953. | The whole. |
| Act No. 47 of 1953. | Black Education Act, 1953. | Section sixteen. |
| [Title of Act No. 47 of 1953 amended by s. 17 of Act No. 102 of 1978.] |||
| Act No. 9 of 1954. | Provincial Councils Continuance Act, 1954. | The whole. |
| Act No. 20 of 1954. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1954. | The whole. |
| Act No. 50 of 1954. | Royal Seals Amendment Act, 1954. | The whole. |
| Act No. 9 of 1955. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1955. | The whole. |
| Act No. 53 of 1955. | Senate Act, 1955. | Sections one to nine, inclusive. |
| Act No. 9 of 1956. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1956. | Sections two, three and four. |
| Act No. 10 of 1956. | Official Languages (Local Authorities) Amendment Act, 1956. | The whole. |
| Act No. 39 of 1956. | Railways and Harbours Acts Further Amendment Act, 1956. | The whole. |
| Act No. 1 of 1957. | South Africa Act Further Amendment Act, 1957. | The whole. |
| Act No. 2 of 1957. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1957. | The whole. |
| Act No. 18 of 1957. | Flags Amendment Act, 1957. | The whole. |
| Act No. 24 of 1957. | Official Languages (Local Authorities) Amendment Act, 1957. | The whole. |
| Act No. 1 of 1958. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1958. | The whole. |
| Act No. 49 of 1958. | South Africa Act Further Amendment Act, 1958. | The whole. |
| Act No. 3 of 1959. | South Africa Act Amendment Act, 1959. | The whole. |
| Act No. 48 of 1959. | South Africa Act Further Amendment Act, 1959. | The whole. |
| Act No. 49 of 1959. | Offices of Profit Amendment Act, 1959. | The whole. |
| Act No. 52 of 1960. | Referendum Act, 1960. | The whole. |
| Act No. 53 of 1960. | Senate Act, 1960. | The whole, except section two. |
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