DA to reintroduce bills in bid to stabilise coalitions

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