PHUTI MOSOMANE
SOUTH African Local Government Association (SALGA) President Bheki Stofile says local government has become unstable in South Africa due to “warring” coalitions partners in local municipalities.
He urged government and Parliament to act and to start looking at regulations aimed at making coalition governments work better for the benefit of the people.
Speaking during the second day of the second day of the debate on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), Stofile said the situation in local government is getting worse due to ‘chaotic’ coalition governments.
“In South Africa, if you don’t deal with this animal of coalition, this animal will go and rob the majority of our people,” said Stofile.
He said that SALGA has developed a Coalition Government Framework together with the University of Cape Town.
“Coalition government is the animal that robs people. We must protect the municipal revenue-base system. Coalition partners in municipalities were offering employment to their preferred people often to the detriment of the budget,” said Stofile.
Local government came under close scrutiny in the recent past because it is at the coalface of service delivery. In a similar vein, local government, is confronted with a variety of complex issues, such as the growing debt owed to municipalities, which directly affects municipal revenue sources, and is made worse by the weak economy, which causes unemployment and rising poverty levels.
“The success of local government is the success of government as a whole,” he said.
Local Government entered a new era in 1996 with the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic. Since then, the sector has experienced a lot of pressure, especially since the last elections where more municipalities were run through coalition governments.
In the City of Joburg, three municipalities are governed by coalition governments after parties failed to obtain an outright majority in the 2021 local government elections.
Earlier this month, Al Jama-ah councillor Thapelo Amad was elected as the new mayor of Johannesburg, replacing the DA’s Mpho Phalatse.
In the City of Tshwane, DA’s Randall Williams announced his resignation on Monday, saying the decision was made in the interest of the continued stability of the muti-party coalition government in the metro.
Stofile said given that the country is approaching yet another election year, the possibility of a coalition government after the 2024 general elections is even more plausible than ever before.
Since the establishment of the Local Government System in SA on 2 December 2022, the county has completed 22 years of Local Government Wall-to-Wall System.”
Stofile said that the declaration of the national State of Disaster to some municipalities was the right decision.
“Local governments would like to take part in the national energy crisis committee to provide local perspective,” he said.
“We appreciate that the National Government allows us to enter into discussions, hence we have an engagement with the Minister of Finance looking into funding modalities that must assist local government.”
INSIDE POLITICS
