New laws for coalitions in South Africa are coming – what you need to know

The government has taken the first steps to develop new laws for coalition governance in the country, publishing a concept paper on the topic for public comment.

While the concept document is one of the earliest stages of formulating official regulations on coalitions, it also maps the path forward – which includes having a national dialogue on the topic in August 2023, and tabling a framework in the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces by the end of November.

The discussion document comes amid concerns within the government that the current state of coalitions in key metros has wrought political instability.

This has been seen most notably in the City of Johannesburg where, since the start of the year, the metro has had three separate mayors with several threats to the position.

The Democratic Alliance’s Mpho Phalatse was removed from the role in January following a motion of no-confidence, replaced by Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad.

Amad then resigned from the role in April ahead of yet another motion of no-confidence, with his colleague Kabelo Gwamanda taking over and becoming the ninth mayor of Johannesburg since 2016.

The Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Water and Sanitation and Human Settlements said that Johannesburg’s persistent political instability highlights the urgent need to develop a credible framework to guide coalition governments.

It said that this would ensure the stability required to deliver services.

It added that a credible framework is required to ensure that municipalities are not abused by political parties for selfish reasons.

“The committee had previously scheduled a meeting with a mayor to deal with audit reports by the Auditor General. Upon arriving in Gauteng, the committee was informed of a change in mayorship, leading to the postponement of a meeting. The administration has also raised concerns that this political instability impacted their ability to plan and implement plans, as a change in leadership often leads to change in focus,” said China Dodovu, the committee’s Chairperson.

The committee added that it was concerned that the city has no consequence management, with irregular expenditure jumping by 15% to R6.7 billion and fruitless and wasteful expenditure growing by 23%.

Although the committee welcomed the assurance that the new administration is in an advanced stage of creating a disciplinary board, it said that the constant change in leadership is hurting the operation of this crucial body.

The committee also expressed concern about the vacancy rate at the senior management level, the lack of payment from residents and the overreliance on consultants – much like the City of Tshwane.

New laws on the agenda

With the pressing need for coalition legislation, the national government said it will host a dialogue on the matter in August.

According to the concept document for the discussion, several countries in the world have coalition governments that are working, such as Japan, Germany and Kenya.

“The specific socio-political culture and institutional conditions in these countries make it possible for coalitions to guarantee continuity of socioeconomic development and service delivery, regardless of the dynamics in politics,” the document said.

“Further, the professionalisation of public administration and the insulation of civil servants or public servants from political upheavals prevents these governments from being dysfunctional.”

However, it did note that are still countries where coalitions have been disastrous for national development; this is especially the case in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Coalition governments in these countries have seen increased instability and fragmentation that has not aided national reconstruction, socioeconomic development or structural transformation.

“From the overview of international experience, we conclude that coalitions are neither inherently good nor intrinsically bad. They cannot be romanticised as the answer to the problems facing many democracies,” it said.

“Some have worked, while others have failed phenomenally. It really depends on the conditions and challenges each country faces, the sociopolitical culture, strength of democratic institutions, level of socioeconomic development and the degree of national consensus on what each country wants to become.”

For the discussion, a host of academics and an established technical task team will also provide an independent discussion document that will be based on the following:

• Synthesis of the existing research, international experiences and recommendations made; Identification of root causes for instability in municipalities;
• Dysfunctional municipalities in general and transformation of Local Government;
• Voters confidence;
• Regulatory reforms looking into the current electoral system, regulation of coalitions, thresholds for entering Councils and other legislation;
• Culture necessary for coalitions, the role of electorates, the possibility of limiting votes of no confidence, secret voting by office bearers, etc.;
• Political and Administrative interface, professionalisation of the public service and political social compact for improved service delivery;
• Dealing with stability in the upcoming elections and exploring policy interventions.

Limiting no-confidence motions has regularly been cited as a way to limit the instability in local government.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Thembi Nkadimeng previously said that her department is working on a draft bill to amend the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act.

A major proposed change looks at motions of no-confidence, which would only be allowed two years after the council is elected.

The concept note for the discussion can be found below: