Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa

The Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa (formally the Constitution Sixteenth Amendment Act of 2009) transferred Merafong City Local Municipality from North West to Gauteng, altering the boundary between the two provinces. It alters the sections of Schedule 1A to the Constitution that define the geographical areas of the two provinces. The amendment came about in response to the ongoing, and sometimes violent, protests by the people of Khutsong, which had previously been transferred from Gauteng to the North West by the Twelfth Amendment.

Constitution Sixteenth Amendment Act of 2009
Location of Merafong City within Gauteng province after the boundary change
Parliament of South Africa
Long title Act to amend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, in order to re-determine the geographical areas of the provinces of Gauteng and North West; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
Enacted by	Parliament of South Africa
Enacted	19 March 2009
Assented to	25 March 2009
Commenced	3 April 2009
Legislative history
Bill	Constitution Sixteenth Amendment Bill
Bill citation	B1—2009
Bill published on	15 January 2009
Introduced by	Enver Surty, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
Amends
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Related legislation
Twelfth Amendment

The bill for the amendment was introduced in the National Assembly and published on 15 January 2009. It was passed by the National Assembly on 18 February with 286 votes in favour, 2 against and 13 abstentions.[1] It was passed by the National Council of Provinces on 19 March with all nine provinces voting in favour.[2] The amendment was signed by President Kgalema Motlanthe on 25 March and came into force on 3 April, weeks before the 2009 general election.