The governing African National Congress wants to overhaul the way major metros run their executive committees, which will ensure that it has representation in portfolios – even in cities where it has no outright majority.<\/p>\n
ANC National Executive Committee member – and former Gauteng premier – David Makhura unveiled the party’s plans during a post-NEC briefing this weekend.<\/p>\n
Makhura was addressing talk around coalition governance in South Africa, which has been increasing in the public and political sphere as the 2024 national elections approach.<\/p>\n
Even according to its own internal polling, the ANC is at risk of falling below 50% of the vote for the first time in 30 years, putting its firm grip on national governance at risk.<\/p>\n
This unprecedented state of affairs has pushed opposition parties into action, with growing talk around forming a coalition government to push the ANC out of power in 2024 should the final numbers reflect a sub-50% reality for the party.<\/p>\n
According to Makhura, the ANC is not too concerned and that it remains confident that the party is able to fix the problems of the country and is best positioned to respond to the people’s needs.<\/p>\n
He also spent a great deal of time shooting down coalitions, characterising them as a “challenge to democracy” and unsuited to South Africa.<\/p>\n
“You can’t invest in coalitions in countries that have major structural problems,” he said, adding that they are part of democracy but can’t solve every problem.<\/p>\n
“We view coalitions as a challenge of democracy. Coalitions happen because the people don’t trust any single party to give it a full mandate. The ANC is spending time fixing that.<\/p>\n
He said that opposition parties are facing the same crisis and have hit the ceiling in their support and are getting desperate.<\/p>\n
“They will not perform above a certain level. For them, they are looking for coalitions, for them, the saviour is coalitions. For the ANC, the saviour is going back to the people. So we are not investing in coalitions, we are investing in reconnecting with the people,” he said.<\/p>\n
Overhaul<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the ANC’s stated position on coalitions, however, its actions are clearly running counter to that, with the party looking at ways to rationalise and regulate how coalitions should function in the country.<\/p>\n Makhura said this wasn’t because the ANC was planning for coalitions but rather because it needed to “fix” the coalitions that already exist.<\/p>\n “We have to fix existing coalitions,” he said, describing the tendency for people to “romanticise” coalitions. Their arrival in 2016 in the big metros was celebrated – however, in 2023, people are now disappointed, he said.<\/p>\n Makhura said the ANC wants to put “certain measures” in place.<\/p>\n One key measure is switching the structure of government in metros and changing executive systems.<\/p>\n He said that South Africa currently has two executive systems in place in municipalities: an Executive Mayoral System<\/strong> and a Collective Executive System<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Executive mayoral systems<\/strong> operate where a council elects a mayor, and the mayor has the executive power to appoint other members to the executive committee. Makhura said this is a “winner takes all” system.<\/p>\n When there is a hung council, the parties come together and get 50%-plus-one, agreeing on who will be the mayor. The other roles they split amongst themselves, according to whatever agreement they have.<\/p>\n Makhura said this isn’t the most democratic approach, as parties who may have received a significant number of votes may not be represented in the executive.<\/p>\n The other system – the Collective Executive System<\/strong> – resolves this.<\/p>\n In this system, parties are represented in the executive in proportion to the electoral outcomes – ie, the number of votes they got. This is more democratic, Makhura said, and is based on the will of the people.<\/p>\n “Any party that has received substantial support will be represented,” he said.<\/p>\n The ANC argues that the collective system is more stable and more reliable. “The municipalities under the mayoral system are where the problems are,” he said.<\/p>\n South Africa’s major metros are currently run under the mayoral executive system, including the City of Cape Town, the City of Johannesburg and the City of Tshwane, among others. The City of Joburg and City of Tshwane in particular have played host to months, if not years, of instability due to the constant bickering, betrayals and infighting among coalition parties.<\/p>\n By moving to the collective system, Makhura said that most of the problems would be addressed and stability restored.<\/p>\n Notably, the new system would also place ANC members on the executive in the City of Cape Town, despite the DA’s outright majority in that metro.<\/p>\n Makhura said that coalitions must be dealt with nationally with a single solution.<\/p>\n “When you deal with coalitions, you must have one national approach, and not different approaches, where in one province you do one thing and in another something else,” he said.<\/p>\n
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