By Johnathan Paoli
The Democratic Alliance has announced its intention to reintroduce two private member bills to Parliament in an effort to stabilise coalitions across South Africa.
DA chief whip George Michalakis said the Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill and the Constitution Nineteenth Amendment Bill were introduced by his party during the last administration, and would ensure the sturdiness of coalitions on a local, provincial and national level.
“By ensuring that duly elected office bearers are not held to ransom by smaller parties politicking across the floor in exchange for lucrative positions, we can build more stable and more effective coalition governments that focus on service delivery and not on playing politics for personal gain,” Michalakis said on Sunday.
The bills are expected to facilitate a number of changes to the relationship between parties in the various spheres.
Michalakis said the number of motions of no confidence (MONC) that were brought against various office bearers, including mayors, speakers and premiers, be limited to one motion in a 12-month period; except in situations of misconduct, constitutional violation or performance problems.
The bills further call for the establishment of an independent panel in each local council and legislature to determine the validity of any additional MONCs before they are tabled.
He said that by limiting MONCs, coalition governments would have the space to properly implement plans, processes and budgets in order to more effectively serve the people.
The chief whip stressed the disastrous impacts of MONCs on the stability and governance of municipalities in light of the shift in the political landscape.
“South African politics is no longer characterised by a single majority party holding power to the exclusion of all others. Whether on a local, provincial or national government level, the era of coalition and co-governance politics will become the new norm,” he said.
Michalakis called for cooperation and the formation of workable coalitions in light of the upcoming elections.
This comes on the heels of tension between the DA and the African National Congress, with several disagreements on such ideological divisions such as the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, to be more pragmatic within municipalities and at a provincial level.
It also follows the DA’s mayor in Tshwane being ousted last month by an ANC motion of no confidence vote.
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