Reimagining what we can achieve together, by seeing the abundant potential in existing resources that surround us.

This video is from the Civics Academy Governance Series. Check out our videos: www.civicsacademy.co.za Democratic government is characterised by the separation of powers. This system divides the state into three branches - the legislative, executive and judicial branch - and gives each the power to fulfil different tasks. Tasks are assigned to the different branches and their institutions in such a way that each of them can check the exercise of power by the others. As a result, no single branch can become so powerful as to control the system completely. The separation of powers is important because it provides a vital system of ‘checks and balances’: Firstly, it ensures that the different branches control each other. This is intended to make them accountable to each other - these are the ‘checks’. Secondly, it divides power between the different branches of government. This balance aims to ensure that no individual or group of people in government is ‘all powerful’.

This video is from the Civics Academy Governance Series. Check out our videos: www.civicsacademy.co.za Democracies are characterised 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 legislature is the representative of the people of South Africa. The legislative authority in the national sphere of government is vested in Parliament, which is the supreme legislative power in the country. Parliament is responsible for passing laws and for holding the executive branch of government accountable. The power of Parliament is limited by the Constitution. The judiciary checks the exercise of power by the legislature. Through its work, Parliament is tasked to make sure that the interests of the people of South Africa are represented in all their diversity.

This video is from the Civics Academy Governance Series. Check out our videos: www.civicsacademy.co.za We often hear that ‘the government makes all the decisions’ or that the ‘government will build schools and hospitals’. But do we know what ‘government’ really means and what it actually is responsible for? Governance is the form or system of rule by which a state or nation is organised and governed. This happens through a system made up of laws and institutions. Government normally consists of the legislature, which creates the laws; the executive, which implements the laws; and the courts, or judiciary, which interpret and apply the laws.

This video is from the Civics Academy Governance Series. Check out our videos: www.civicsacademy.co.za Democracies are characterised 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 that decisions of the judiciary are implemented.

This video is from the Civics Academy Governance Series. Check out our videos: www.civicsacademy.co.za The judiciary is the third branch of the democratic government system. The judiciary interprets and applies the law - including the Constitution – and ensures that the other two branches, the executive and the legislature, comply with it. To fulfil its role, the judiciary must be strictly independent and impartial: judges cannot promote the interests of a political party or an individual.