THREE-SPHERE FORM OF GOVERNMENT
The lobby of the Old National Assembly
with a Bill or will abstain from voting on the Bill. No further negotiations are allowed. A report is then prepared for consideration by the House. This represents the voting stage which is the last in the process when a province either votes in favour of or against a Bill or abstains from voting on the Bill. The vote is cast by the head of the delegation. Once passed, a Bill introduced in
the NCOP is transmitted to the NA for consideration and decision. If the NA passes the Bill without amendment, it is submitted to the President for signature and assent. If the NA amends it, the Bill must be referred back to the NCOP for reconsideration and decision. If the NCOP passes a Bill without amendment, likewise, it must be submitted to the President for signature and assent. Just as a Bill passed by the NA
must be transmitted to the NCOP for consideration and decision, if the NCOP amends the Bill, it must be referred back to the NA for reconsideration and decision. When the NA passes it, the Bill must be referred to the President for signature and assent.
may either be introduced in the NA or the NCOP. A Bill introduced in the NA must be dealt with in terms of the procedure prescribed in section 76(1) and the Bill introduced in the NCOP must be dealt with in terms of section 76(2) of the constitution.
Provinces take their positions At the start of the process, provincial Legislatures confer with their delegations on a Bill. At this stage, depending on whether there are different provincial views, delegates
from different provinces attempt to convince one another to accept each other’s position on the Bill. Once a committee has deliberated
on different provincial positions and has decided which position(s) to accept or reject, delegates report back to their provincial Legislatures on the position adopted by the committee with a view to obtaining a final position of the province on a Bill. This is referred to as a final mandate. At this stage, a province states whether it agrees or disagrees
Disagreements between the national Houses Disagreement may ensue if the NCOP is of the view that a Bill does not fully take provincial interests into consideration. If, after reconsideration, the Houses still disagree, a Bill is referred to the Mediation Committee, which is formed as and when required to break a deadlock between the Houses. It consists of nine Members from the NA and nine permanent delegates from the NCOP, representing each province. The Mediation Committee may
either agree on a Bill as passed by the NA or an amended Bill as passed by the NCOP or another version of the Bill. The Mediation Committee must exercise any of these options within 30 days, failing which a Bill lapses if it was introduced in the NCOP. If it was introduced in the NA, it may still be passed by the NA if it gets a two- thirds majority.
If the Mediation Committee
agrees on the Bill as passed by the NA, the Bill must be referred to the NCOP, and if the latter passes the Bill, it must be referred to the President for signature and assent. The converse is true if the Mediation Committee agrees on the Bill as passed by the NCOP. If the Mediation Committee agrees on another version, the Bill must be referred to both Houses and, if passed, it must be referred to the President for assent.
Bills not affecting provinces These are Bills dealing with functional areas on which only the national government may legislate, such as defence, intelligence, et cetera. These Bills may only be introduced in the NA. Unlike Bills affecting provinces, the NCOP may only propose amendments which the NA may either accept or reject. For it to be passed, a Bill must be supported by at least the majority of delegates present. Because these Bills do not affect the provinces, delegates need not confer with the authority to decide on the vote by their Provincial Legislatures.
Speaking for the provinces It is clear that the NCOP has greater influence in the law-making process on matters affecting the provinces, enabling it to effectively represent the interests of the provinces in the national legislative process. The fact that decisions on Bills affecting the provinces are subjected to mediation in the event of disagreement between the NCOP and the NA emphasizes this point. The NA may still pass a Bill
affecting provinces after mediation has failed; but this has never happened in the history of our Parliament. One may venture to suggest that it may be that such a law may not enjoy legitimacy because it would have effectively been rejected by the provinces which may be required to administer it. Rather than proceeding with such a Bill, the best option would be to allow it to lapse. Here lies the power of the NCOP to represent the interests of provinces.
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