 What is the Executive? Welcome to the Civics Academy governance series. In these videos, we explore different aspects of democratic governance and the concept of the separation of powers as one of the key features of democracy. In this video, we look at the executive branch of government, its responsibility and tasks. Democracies are characterized by the separation of functions and powers between the three branches of government. The legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Each branch checks the power of the other two so that there is a balance of power between them. The executive branch of government is responsible for the daily administration of a country. That is why we often refer to the executive as the government. It carries out its own policies, implements the laws passed by the legislature and ensures the decisions of the judiciary are implemented. Chapter 5 of the South African Constitution explains how the executive is formed and how it functions. The national executive is made up of the cabinet, which includes the president, the deputy president and the ministers of each government department. Deputy ministers are not part of the cabinet but they are also part of the executive. The head of the executive is the president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a fixed term. He or she appoints a deputy president who assists the president in the duties as head of government and head of state. The president further appoints his or her ministers and deputy ministers. The president decides what each one's powers and functions are and may dismiss them at his or her discretion. The president chooses his or her cabinet from the members of the National Assembly but may select no more than two ministers from outside the assembly. The ministers are the heads of different ministries also referred to as departments. There are more than 40 departments in the South African government. Examples are water and sanitation, trade and industry or finance. Ministers share the responsibilities with deputy ministers. The deputy president and ministers remain members of the National Assembly and are also referred to as members of parliament or MPs. Each minister is accountable to the National Assembly for his or her department's work. Ministers also contribute to discussions on matters of importance in the assembly and usually guide the adoption of laws in parliament. The president, however, vacates his or her seat in the National Assembly after election to office. The president further appoints a member of the cabinet to be the leader of government business in the National Assembly. While the national executive deals with issues concerning the whole country, there is also a provincial executive for each province and a local executive for each town or city. The provincial executive is known as the executive council. Each executive council is headed by the premier of the province and also includes 10 provincial members of the executive council who act as provincial ministers. At local level, each municipality is headed by a mayor elected by the local council. The council is the legislative arm of the municipality. The mayor is assisted by the mayoral committee within the executive. We explain the governance of municipalities in more detail in our civics academy video, what are municipalities and how are they structured. Now let's talk about what the executive is responsible for and its tasks. It is the responsibility of the executive to govern the country in the best interests of its citizens and in compliance with the constitution. The executives at the national, provincial and local levels of government have their own exclusive tasks but must cooperate, support and assist each other and coordinate their actions and legislation. In some functional areas they also share competencies and responsibilities for example housing. We explain the exclusive shared competencies of the national and provincial government in more detail in our video what is local government. The executive further has the responsibility to ensure that the law is enforced through its respective departments and the South African police service. Each of the three branches of government checks the exercise of power of the other branches. The national executive is firstly accountable to parliament. Parliament oversees the exercise of power and the work of the executive and checks that departments spend their money wisely. This control function happens mostly through the work of the national assembly's oversight committees. Ministers regularly appear before these committees to explain their work to MPs and to justify their department's decisions and spending. The executive is further subject to the judgements and orders of the judiciary. The judiciary can check whether a minister or the president has complied with the constitution and can declare invalid any action by a minister or the president if the action is in conflict with any provision in the constitution. Summary The executive is the branch of democratic government that is constituted by the cabinet, which is the president, deputy president and the ministers and also the deputy ministers. The executive is responsible for the day-to-day administration and carrying out of national legislation and policies through the work of its departments. The executive operates at three levels of government, the national, provincial and local level. All of these levels of government have executive authority in their own spheres. Within the balance of powers, the executive is accountable to and is monitored by the legislature and is subject to the decisions of the judiciary.