Should we have Provincial Leaders??

[Slug71]

I believe each Province should have a leader like a Governor in the States. They would be voted for every 4 years like a President and can serve a maximum of 2 terms. Elections for the Leaders would be 2 or so weeks after a Presidential election so that the region who lost its leader to President can elect a new one. To vote for your Province leader would be the same as Electing your President by Party. These leaders would also be the candidates for upcoming Presidential elections.
I think this would give voters more of a say and would equal out the field. It would also create more stability i think as the stronger provinces can help the weaker ones and i also believe this would bring our leaders and people closer together which in turn could solve the many problems the country is facing.
This will also give voters a better idea on who to vote for based on what work and what he has achieved for the Province he lead. So instead of just having one Party leader to chose from you could have a seperate one for each Province. And lets say the ANC won all Provinces, at least the won who did the best for their province would most likely be President.
My view

[ches]

We already have provincial leaders! There are many people who feel that the personality-politics and obscenely profligate election process in the US is a model for how not to do things. Indeed, in my industry (engineering), my bosses have blamed not making political contributions to the "right" people on not winning any work recently. If that's not bribery and corruption, I don't know what is. The whole campaign contribution and lobbying system is in my opinion robbing Americans of their liberty and an affront to democracy.

While a parliamentary system is far from perfect, the idea is that the best thing for the country/party is everyone's goal and the best leader is selected to that end. Joe Citizen is able to have a hand in the election of the leader of their party of choice by becoming a member of that party. This is a much cheaper system than the incessant primaries in the US which most voters ignore anyway unless it's for the president.

[Slug71]

Yes every Province does have leaders but they dont play a Role like that of a Governor in the U.S.A. And yes the U.S.A isnt a good example for leadership in many cases but i think with only 9 Provinces instead of 52 that this system could work for us. The U.S also has only 2 Major Parties(Republicans and Democrats) where S.A now has one(ANC), Under my proposal there would probably be three(ANC, DA and ID) with ANC still being the biggest but at least the Provinces that usually vote DA or ID will have their wish which will at least make everyone a little happier by having the Party they voted for in control of their Province. This will also give all South Africans a little more faith in the Government and make them feel that they have more of a say in whats going on.
If people can see what candidate has done what for their Provinces then at least that gives them a better idea of who to vote for, for President based on the work that person has done instead of like now having to judge by what they SAY they will do. My idea is also not exactly like America's system as Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama etc. aren't Governors. My Idea is that the Provincial Governors become the candidates so that people can see what they've already done.

[Skhotha]

Slug, please help me understand this system.
Currently, if a party gets the most votes in any province they are the ones that "control" that province. Am I wrong? I mean some time back the IFP had the most votes in KZN and the NP had the most votes in Western Cape hence they "controlled" those provinces. Since then the ANC has grown. Which provinces normally vote DA or ID?

Please could you indulge me and explain it to me like I was a toddler. If possible by highlighting the differences.

Thanks

[Slug71]

Yes that is the way it is now and is made up with a group of Legislatures. But hey cannot make their own laws etc. or for example if one Province wanted to revive the Scorpions as a seperate department again, they cannot do that. Theres limitations to the power Provinces have.
If that helps. What im saying is things will remain the same as now but a Governor will be the boss man of that Province and can make new laws for that Province if he wanted to and was approved by the legislature. The NCOP would then be made up with the 9 Governors.

DA has taken the place of the NP in the Western Cape and ID is on their trail.

[Skhotha]

I hear you a bit better but I'm still in the dark. What will the role of the natioal government be in relation to the provincial government?
How do you see the financial side? Will the provinces be self sufficient or will they receive financial support from the national government?
I'm not sure if there have been recent surveys that have documented the future votes of the Western Cape voters because in the last election the ANC won that province!

[Slug71]

Didnt know the ANC won the Western Cape at the last elections as i didnt pay much attention to it.
But the National government would stay the same as is.
Each Province would be allocated a budget each year from the National Government.

Basically, Jacob Zuma is now President of the ANC. Which means he will be the next President. My idea would mean if the ANC won each Province in the Governors election then there would be 9 ANC candidates for the next Presidential election instead of just one giving people a better vote. So each Political Party would have a President for that party in every Province instead of a single National one.

So you have 9 leaders, all from the same Party but they are each in control of their own Province. Lets say theyve all served a 4/5 year term and Presidential elections are coming up. One of them spent the budget on dagga and one spent it on 4x4s, 5 did a good job with the budget but one built new schools, a power station, police stations, curbed crime, created jobs, and its all been out there for people to see over the 4/5 years the served as Governor. Who do you think people would vote for to be President?
You can base your vote on what theyve done instead of what they say they will do.
Hope that helped a bit more.