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MUNICIPAL COALITIONS: CONFUSING PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE STATEMENT EXPLAINED
- 29 October 2024
- Local & Provincial Government
- SA Legal Academy
The ‘draft Municipal Coalitions Bill’ referred to in a media statement recently issued by the National Assembly’s Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Committee is, in fact, a draft Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill released in May 2024 for public comment. It has yet to be finalised and considered by Cabinet for tabling in Parliament.
The draft Bill was the focus of SA Legal Academy’s 1 June 2024 'IN THE SPOTLIGHT' and may have been informed by private members’ Bills tabled in April 2024 by the DA's Siviwe Gwarube, now Minister of Basic Education.
It is unusual for a parliamentary committee to ‘discuss’ a draft Bill before it has been finalised and tabled. This is especially given the vast amount of work still required. According to page 35 of a Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs document presented to the committee at its 29 October 2024 meeting:
- a ‘final’ socio-economic impact assessment has yet to be conducted
- the draft Bill has yet to be revised to incorporate any suggestions or public comments deemed relevant or appropriate, and
- the process of presenting it to various Cabinet committees has been known to take a considerable amount of time.
This notwithstanding, July 2025 has been earmarked for the Bill’s formal introduction in Parliament.
Interestingly, the presentation document includes:
- a summary of input received on the draft Bill from members of the public
- proposals for possible changes to certain clauses, and
- insight into the outcome of a review of the local government electoral system ‘with particular reference to … proportional representation’.
It is not clear from the National Assembly rules if it is procedurally acceptable for a committee to discuss a draft Bill so far in advance of its finalisation and preparation for formal introduction.
- committee media statement
- draft Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill
- presentation document
- ‘IN THE SPOTLIGHT’
Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch
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