ANALYSIS| The Coalition Bill is too flawed to stop municipal collapse

• A Frankenstein Bill? Discover why critics describe the Coalition Bill as incoherent and chaotic, “complete with two left legs and a bolt straight through its brain.”

• Find out how the Bill demands written coalition agreements yet provides no real consequences for breaking them, leaving councils vulnerable to endless disputes.

• Learn why, despite Parliament’s urgency, the Bill won’t be ready before the November elections — meaning new councils will face the same instability it was meant to fix.

By Jonathan Erasmus

There is little doubt that coalition governments will play an increasingly important role in South Africa’s political future, but there is also little doubt that the country needs better legislation to prevent unstable coalitions from further hollowing out myriad failing municipalities.  

The Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, also known as the Coalition Bill, will do none of this, primarily because one cannot legislate greed or the fondness of