LOCAL GOVERNMENT COALITIONS: LEGISLATIVE REFORMS IMMINENT?

LOCAL GOVERNMENT COALITIONS: LEGISLATIVE REFORMS IMMINENT?

• 27 October 2023
• Local & Provincial Government
• SA Legal Academy

A ‘coalition framework’ and draft Bill amending the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, are being developed to address ‘the challenges faced by councils with coalitions that hinder their effective functioning’. Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Thembi Nkadimeng announced this during an address to delegates at the Chartered Institute of Governance Finance, Audit & Risk Officers annual conference in Cape Town.

According to the Minister, among other things the amendment Bill will:

• require political parties contesting an election in a municipal council to obtain ‘a minimum of 1% of … valid votes cast … to qualify for … a seat on the council – thus minimising the number of parties in a municipal council’
• regarding a motion of no confidence in the speaker or mayor, require:
  • two years to pass since the council’s election, and
  • a supporting vote from at least two-thirds of the councillors
• regulate the conclusion of a coalition agreement, making it ‘legally enforceable’, and
• regulate ‘arrangements in municipalities where coalitions are in place’, including those with independent candidates.

Please click the link below to read the official version of the Minister’s address:

• speech

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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