The provincial government consists of a premier, an executive council of ten ministers, and a legislature. The provincial assembly and premier are elected for five-year terms, or until the next national election. Political parties are awarded assembly seats based on the percentage of votes each party receives in the province during the national elections. The assembly elects a premier, who then appoints the members of the executive council. The premier of North West Province as of 22 June 2018 is Job Mokgoro of the African National Congress. He replaced Supra Mahumapelo as premier after Mahumapelo stepped down in May 2018.
Geography
Much of the province consists of flat areas of scattered trees and grassland. The Magaliesberg mountain range in the northeast extends about 130 km from Pretoria to Rustenburg. The Vaal River flows along the southern border of the province.
Climate
Temperatures range from 17° to 31 °C in the summer and from 3° to 21 °C in the winter. Annual rainfall totals about 360 mm, with almost all of it falling during the summer months, between October and April.
Borders
North West borders the following districts of Botswana:
Kgatleng – far northeast
South-East – northeast
Southern – north
Kgalagadi – northwest
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
Limpopo – northeast
Gauteng – east
Free State – southeast
Northern Cape – southwest
North West Province is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude.
Population 100,000+ Population 50,000+ Population 25,000+ Population 10,000+ Population < 10,000 ''
Economy
The mainstay of the economy of North West Province is mining, which generates more than half of the province's gross domestic product and provides jobs for a quarter of its workforce. The chief minerals are gold, mined at Orkney and Klerksdorp; uranium, mined at Klerksdorp; platinum, mined at Rustenburg and Brits; and diamonds, mined at Lichtenburg, Christiana, and Bloemhof. About 85% of all money-making activities take place between Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom. The economic heart of the province is Klerksdorp. The northern and western parts of the province have many sheep farms and cattle and game ranches. The eastern and southern parts are crop-growing regions that produce maize, sunflowers, tobacco, cotton, and citrus fruits. The entertainment and casino complex at Sun City and Lost City also contributes to the provincial economy.
Demographics
The majority of the province's residents are Tswana people who speak Tswana, as in neighbouring Botswana. Smaller groups include Afrikaans, Sotho, and Xhosa speaking people. English is spoken primarily as a second language. Most of the population belong to Christian denominations.. According to the 2007 community survey 90.8% of the province's population was Black, 7.2% as White, 1.6% as Coloured and 0.4% as Asian. The 2007 community survey showed the province had a population of just over 3 million. The province's white population is very unevenly distributed. In the southern and eastern municipalities, the white percentage in double figures such as the Tlokwe and Matlosana where the white percentages were 27% and 12% respectively. The province has the lowest number of people aged 35 years and older who have received higher education. Since 1994 the number of people receiving higher education has increased. After the disbanding of the bantustans, many people migrated to the economic centres of Cape Town and Gauteng.
Education
The province had two universities: the University of North West, which was formerly called the University of Bophuthatswana, in Mmabatho; and Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. These two universities have now merged and the new institution is called North-West University. There is also a private university found in Klerksdorp: , which caters mainly to Afrikaans students. Because it is a private institution classes may be in Afrikaans and the foundation of education gained at Centurion Akademie is based on the Christian faith. It is also the largest institution of its kind in existence. As part of the Department of Education's proposed plans for higher education, the existing four higher learning institutions will be merged to form two. During 2003, as part of the Year of Further Education and Training project, three mega institutions, Taletso, ORBIT and Vuselela, were established to provide technical and vocational training to the youth. These institutions have been incorporated into many of the former education and technical colleges and manpower centres.
