South Africa’s bill on municipal coalitions is delayed
In South Africa, consideration of a bill to amend the Municipal Structures Act, intended to regulate the formation and operation of coalitions in local councils, has still not been completed. As Daily Maverick writes, the document was first introduced in 2024 in response to instability in municipalities where no political force has a majority.
Instability in metropolitan municipalities
After the 2016 local elections, the African National Congress lost its sole majority in four of the country’s eight metropolitan municipalities. These councils had no stable majority, so their governance required coalitions.
Among the bill’s provisions are restrictions on motions of no confidence in mayors, council speakers and chief whips. According to the column, since the 2016 local elections, Johannesburg has had ten changes of mayor, while Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane have had six each. The author notes that such political changes affected the work of municipal administrations, causing delays and complications in the delivery of basic services.
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Rules for coalitions
The bill proposes extending the period for forming a municipality’s governing structures from 14 to 30 days so that parties have more time for negotiations and reaching coalition agreements. It also proposes submitting coalition agreements to the municipal manager and the provincial executive council member responsible for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, as well as publishing them in the provincial gazette.
Prospects before the elections
The column’s author believes that passing the law before the November 4 elections will be difficult: the document still has to go through subsequent stages of the legislative process and be signed by the president. Factors cited include political parties’ involvement in election campaigns and the need for thorough public discussion of complex amendments. In the author’s view, without a clear legislative framework, instability in municipal coalitions may persist after the elections.
