Johannesburg - The SA Local Government Authority’s (Salga) president, Bheki Stofile, said he was concerned about the manner in which coalition governments in municipalities function.
Stofile mentioned several problems with coalition governments in the country, including the lack of oversight and accountability measures, the lack of transparency in coalition agreements with no community involvement and participation, and the lack of proportionality, accountability, and integrity in the allocation of municipal portfolios, political offices and functions.
There were also problems with the temptation for coalition talks to include issues related to staff appointments and procurement decisions.
“It is common knowledge that, from the first democratic local government elections in December 2000 until the 2021 elections, they have always produced ‘hung councils’, resulting in coalition governments. It is further common knowledge and generally accepted that coalition governments are often unstable, as illustrated by the current challenges besetting coalition governments in municipalities,” he said.
According to Stofile, Salga was concerned that despite this daunting reality, despite coalitions being a relatively common occurrence in South Africa, coalition governments had not become institutionalised due to the absence of guidelines for coalitions that define the principles, rules, procedures, or sanctions that will apply to the political parties and independent councillors that attempt to govern together.
Stofile said the situation in local government was getting worse due to “chaotic” coalition governments.
“In South Africa, if you don’t deal with this animal of coalition, this animal will go and rob the majority of our people,” he said.
Salga has developed a coalition government framework with the UCT.
“Coalition government is the animal that robs people. We must protect the municipal revenue-base system. Coalition partners in municipalities were offering employment to their preferred people, often to the detriment of the budget,” Stofile said.
Unlike previous elections, the 2021 local government elections gave rise to the most dramatic results as it relates to coalition governments. This development suggests that coalition government will undoubtedly become a common feature of our local political landscape.
“Looking at the surface, some hold the view that coalition government is an occurrence of a new phenomenon, whereas in fact, looking at it much deeper and analysing its impact exposing our general neglect of this very important subject matter,” he said.
He said what was lacking was a framework for coalition governments that could be used as a guide by political parties in structuring their coalitions in practice. Without a framework to guide political parties in structuring and managing coalitions, political parties and independent councillors will be required to establish coalitions while being uncertain about the rules or mechanisms needed to maximise the incentives for co-operation in the coalition government. This will, in all probability, continue to result in coalitions being unstable or short-lived.
The Star