New laws for coalitions in South Africa – deadline approaching
The Department of Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) has extended the deadline for written comments on two bills that will impact the functioning of local governments.
These include the Local Government: General Laws Amendment Bill and the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill.
The comments, which were initially due on the 28 June and 5 July respectively, have been extended to 31 July 2024.
COGTA has said that the extension of the comments are necessary, given the fact that the these consequential bills will impact the “functionality and efficiency of local government.”
Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, 2024
Gazetteed on 21 May 2024, the bill intends to address challenges arising from coalition politics within municipalities in South Africa.
“The Bill comes as a result of a public outcry for a framework, or guidelines or legislation given rise [of hung municipalities, and this increase] signaled the need to strengthen coalition governance to address challenges related to poor governance, service delivery and instability in municipal councils,” said COGTA.
The department said that there needs to be a “framework or guidelines or legislation that will guide the formation and management of coalition governments.”
Some of the key provisions in the bill include introducing legally binding coalition agreements, a minimum threshold, rules around no-confidence votes, and a collective executive system.
Briefly, the Bill seeks to:
- Set a minimum threshold of 1% for a party to be eligible for council seats;
- Bind coalition agreements;
- Change municipalities with a mayoral executive system, in which no party obtained a majority of seats, to a collective executive system within a prescribed period;
- Have council elections or impeachments of municipal office-bearers to be by a show of hands;
- Set out further grounds and rules for removal of municipal office-bearers from office.
One of the most contentious provision in the bill is that of the threshold.
Independent political analyst Michael Atkins wrote that “while superficially attractive, this is a huge problem.”
Atkins used the 270-seat Johannesburg council as an example of this in practice, showing that this provision benefits larger parties in council, excluding smaller parties and possible independents.
This would be quite the shake-up. If this proposed amendment applied in the City of Johannesburg, its mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda would have not made it to council. His party, Al-Jama Ah (which holds 3 seats in 270 seat council) achieved a 0.95% vote share in the city’s 2021 municipal elections.
“In a diverse society, thresholds are undemocratic, acting as a closed shop for established parties, shutting out new entrants and smaller demographics and interest-groups,” said Atikins.
“It is also logically absurd to have thresholds for parties, when you have a system that allows independent candidates [and the] Bill does not even attempt to differentiate between municipalities of differing sizes,” he added.
“I get that people are frustrated with some of those parties, but you should not punish all small parties for the behaviour of some… or disenfranchise voters,” said Atkins.
Local Government: General Laws Amendment Bill, 2024
The Local Government: General Laws Amendment Bill was gazetted on 14 May, which according to COGTA “represents a necessary step towards refining local government legislation.”
“The main aim of the Bill is to review the various pieces of legislation that impact local government to entrench good practices and address the challenges experienced in the Local Government Sector,” said COGTA.
This will be by amending acts such as the Municipal Structures Act of 1998, Municipal Systems Act of 2000, and Municipal Property Rates Act of 2004.
The changes of each of these include:
Municipal Systems Act Amendments:
- Define “whip” as a political office bearer.
- Enable electronic community participation.
- Enhance access to municipal by-laws.
- Ensure transparency with government roles displayed on municipal websites.
- Include growth and climate change in integrated development plans (IDPs).
- Align IDPs across national, provincial, and municipal levels.
- Consider women and youth needs in planning.
- Streamline government coordination.
- Extend acting periods for municipal managers.
- Implement record-keeping for dismissed staff.
- Involve Minister of Finance in bargaining council negotiations.
- Prevent financial misconduct and wasteful expenditure.
Municipal Structures Act Amendments:
- Redefine by-election timelines.
- Require written justifications for refusing council meetings.
- Allow intervention if council meetings are denied.
- Clarify dissolution of mayoral committees during mayor transitions.
- Restrict municipal office-bearers from holding dual roles.
- Mandate timely establishment of ward and public accounts committees.
- Involve traditional leaders in committees.
- Revise district-local municipality powers and functions.
- Establish appeals process for suspended councillors.
Municipal Property Rates Act Amendments:
- Allow electronic service of valuation roll notices.
- Improve billing systems for enhanced revenue collection.
Comments on the bills must be submitted to:
E-mail:
1. Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, 2024 at [email protected];
and
2. Local Government: General Laws Amendment Bill, 2024 at [email protected].
Or Post to:
Director-General
For the attention: Mr Nhlamulo Mathye
Department of Cooperative Governance
Private Bag X804
PRETORIA
0001
Loading ...
