Pretoria - “When coalition governments are in power, delivery can suffer quite severely.....I personally would not want to be the leader of a coalition government," Gauteng Premier David Makhura has said during a visit to the Pretoria News on Tuesday morning, where he spoke about recent problems between the Democratic Alliance (DA), which is in charge of Tshwane, and coalition partner Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
The EFF did not turn up for a council sitting last Thursday, leading to a mass walk-out by the other parties and an abandoning of the meeting, and, said Makhura, coalition governments were, in a country with a young democracy like South Africa, not the best solution for the people.
He acknowledged that they were a democratic result, saying: "Coalitions impact on government's impact to function effectively."
He said they were a disaster in terms of service delivery because each had its own ideas and common ground had to be found to move forward.
Video: Ntando Makhubu
"What we see here in Tshwane will inevitably impact on delivery, on the passing of budgets."
He said the country was in for five year of uncertainty and that was of great concern for him.
Video: Ntando Makhubu
But working together was important: "The first prize if that we want to work with all our municipalities regardless of who, which party is leading in those, we want to work with all the mayors, that is what I say everyday, that is what I pray for, that all of them understand, that it is good for our citizen that we work together, to foster social and econ transformation in Gauteng.”
Makhura visited the Pretoria News ahead of his follow-up visit to the city’s townships as part of the Ntirhisano outreach programme.