Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill (‘Coalitions Bill’) 2024: Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Cooperative Governance

PARI supports measures to increase transparency in coalition governments, such as public voting for office bearers and public coalition agreements, and the introduction of a 1% vote threshold for council seats. However, it expresses caution regarding the mandatory shift from mayoral to collective executive systems in non-majority councils, citing risks of administrative paralysis and loss of accountability. The submission also recommends extending the appointment period for office bearers from 14 to 30 days and strengthening legislative protections for municipal administrations against political interference in procurement and staffing.

• PARI supports replacing secret ballots with public voting (e.g., show of hands) for the removal of office bearers like speakers and whips to reduce individual vote buying and improve political stability, though it suggests maintaining secret votes for motions based on law violations or serious misconduct.
• The document expresses hesitation regarding the proposal to allow the MEC to change a municipality from a mayoral executive system to a collective executive system when no party holds a majority, arguing that the mayoral system better facilitates coherent decision-making and clear accountability.
• While supporting the requirement to make coalition agreements public, PARI argues that these agreements should not be legally binding to allow for strategic flexibility and to avoid conflicts with constitutional prerogatives.
• PARI supports the introduction of a 1% threshold of valid votes for a party to qualify for a municipal council seat, but suggests that this threshold might need to be higher (2% or 3%) if parties merge or form electoral alliances.
• The submission recommends extending the timeframe for appointing office bearers after elections from 14 days to 30 days and calls for more robust enforcement and legislative reforms to prevent political interference in municipal staff appointments and procurement contracts.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2024). Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill (‘Coalitions Bill’) 2024: Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Cooperative Governance. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240730_CoalitionsBill_PARI_Submission_v1.pdf

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill (‘Coalitions Bill’) 2024: Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Cooperative Governance. 2024. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240730_CoalitionsBill_PARI_Submission_v1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill (‘Coalitions Bill’) 2024: Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Cooperative Governance |date=30 July 2024 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240730_CoalitionsBill_PARI_Submission_v1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2024local, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill (‘Coalitions Bill’) 2024: Submission of Public Comment to the Department of Cooperative Governance}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240730_CoalitionsBill_PARI_Submission_v1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }