Law must evolve as politics changes

The author contends that South Africa's increasing number of hung councils has led to political instability that impairs municipal service delivery and administrative function. While supporting the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, 2024—particularly the requirement for public coalition agreements—the author identifies contradictions regarding the timeline for establishing collective executive systems and suggests further limits on votes of no confidence, such as annual thresholds and the adoption of a "constructive vote of no confidence" to ensure long-term stability.

• Political instability in South African hung councils, where the number of such councils has more than doubled since the 2021 local elections, negatively impacts municipal administration and service delivery. For instance, the City of Johannesburg's turnover of five executive mayors since 2021 hindered budget decisions and the repair of water leakages.
• The Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, 2024, is viewed as a positive step toward stability, specifically for its amendment to section 43 which requires that coalition agreements be made public.
• There is a legal contradiction in the amendment bill's clause 2, which proposes a 30-day window for the MEC of local government to establish a collective executive system in hung municipalities, which conflicts with sections 29, 45, and 55 of Act No 117 of 1998 requiring elections for executive positions within 14 days.
• To prevent the misuse of votes of no confidence after the proposed two-year grace period, the author recommends implementing a threshold on the number of such votes allowed per calendar year and adopting a "constructive vote of no confidence," where a majority must support a replacement before removing an office holder.

APA

Morrison, S. (2024). Law must evolve as politics changes. Good Governance Africa. https://gga.org/law-must-evolve-as-politics-changes/

Chicago

Morrison, Stuart. Law must evolve as politics changes. Good Governance Africa, 2024. https://gga.org/law-must-evolve-as-politics-changes/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Morrison |first1=Stuart |title=Law must evolve as politics changes |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=29 August 2024 |url=https://gga.org/law-must-evolve-as-politics-changes/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{morrison2024law, author = {Morrison, Stuart}, title = {{Law must evolve as politics changes}}, publisher = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://gga.org/law-must-evolve-as-politics-changes/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }