The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority is vested in the President of South Africa who is head of state and head of government, and their Cabinet. The President is elected by the Parliament to serve a fixed term.
South Africa's government differs from those of other Commonwealth nations. The national, provincial, and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres, and are defined in the South African Constitution as "distinctive, interdependent, and interrelated".
Operating at both national and provincial levels ("domes") are advisory bodies drawn from South Africa's traditional leaders. It is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country be run on a system of cooperative governance. Ensuring the effectiveness of this system is within the mandate of the Department of Cooperative Governance.
The national government is composed of three inter-connected branches. The first is the legislature, encompassing Parliament, which consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces) with a combined 490 Members of Parliament. The second is the executive, which pertains to the President, who is both Head of State and Head of Government). The third is the judiciary, relating to the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal, and the High Court).
All bodies of the South African Government are subject to the rule of the Constitution, which is the supreme law in South Africa.
Legislative
Executive
The President, Deputy President and the Ministers of the South African Government make up the executive branch of the national government. Ministers are Members of Parliament who are appointed by the President to head the various departments of the national government. The president is elected by parliament from its members.
Judicial
The third branch of the national government is an independent judiciary. The judicial branch interprets the laws, using as a basis the laws as enacted and explanatory statements made in the Legislature during the enactment. The legal system is based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law and accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. The constitution's bill of rights provides for due process including the right to a fair, public trial within a reasonable time.
Magistrates' Courts – The court where civil cases involving less than R100 000, cases.
Provincial government
Local government
Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities of various types. The largest metropolitan areas are governed by metropolitan municipalities, while the rest of the country except for the Prince Edward Islands, although they are for certain legal purposes deemed to fall within the City of Cape Town. is divided into district municipalities, each of which consists of several local municipalities.
As of 2026, there are eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities, and 205 local municipalities, for a total of 257.
Municipalities are governed by municipal councils which are elected every five years. The councils of metropolitan and local municipalities are elected by a system of mixed-member proportional representation, while the councils of district municipalities are partly elected by proportional representation and partly appointed by the councils of the constituent local municipalities.
Opposition In each legislative body, the party or coalition of parties holding a majority of seats forms the government. The largest party not in the government is recognized as the Official Opposition, and is headed by the Leader of the Opposition.
A Shadow Cabinet is traditionally formed by the opposition. An example is the previous Shadow Cabinet of John Steenhuisen. The Shadow Cabinet consists of MPs with shadow portfolios, referred to as Shadow Ministers, whose job it is to scrutinize their corresponding office holders (Ministers) in the Cabinet, and develop alternative policies for their respective portfolios. It is assumed that should the official opposition party form government, those Shadow Ministers would become Ministers of their respective portfolios.
References
External links
Constitution of South Africa