DA to re-introduce Coalition Stabilisation Bills to Parliament

10 November 2024

The Democratic Alliance is pleased to announce that it has given notice of its intention to re-introduce two key private member bills to Parliament in its ongoing efforts to stabilise coalition governments across the country. These bills were introduced by the DA in the last parliament.

These two bills, the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill and the Constitution Nineteenth Amendment Bill, will seek to add stability to coalition governments on a local, provincial, and national level by:

limiting the number of Motions of No Confidence (MONC) that can be brought against various office-bearers, including mayors, speakers, and premiers, to one motion in a 12-month period;

providing for circumstances where further MONCs can be brought within a 12-month period in cases of misconduct, a violation of the Constitution or the law, or an inability to perform the functions of office; and

providing for the establishment of an independent panel in each local council and legislature to determine the validity of these additional MONCs before they are tabled.

South African politics is no longer characterised by a single majority party holding power to the exclusion of all others. Whether on a local, provincial, or national government level, the era of coalition and co-governance politics will become the new norm.

By limiting MONCs to one per 12-month period, we will ensure that coalition governments have the breathing space to properly implement their plans, processes, and budgets in order to actually serve the people and not their own pockets. These Bills also provide for the creation of an independent panel which will determine whether MONCs brought over and above the one allowed, are brought on valid grounds; these being:

Whether the person in office has violated the Constitution or the law;

Whether they have been found guilty of misconduct; or

Whether there is an inability to perform the duties of office.

Spurious MONCs have disastrous impacts on the stability and proper governance of our municipalities. Without a strict regulatory framework within which these processes take place, they will no doubt continue and spread to both provincial and national governments.

That is why the Democratic Alliance has opted not only to introduce legislation to protect local coalitions and residents from bad faith political attacks, but to future-proof our national and provincial co-governance frameworks before they suffer the same fate as so many municipal governments over the years.

With the 2026 Local Government Elections around the corner, political parties and independent candidates will have to come together and form workable coalitions for the good of all South Africans. 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.

Statement issued by George Michalakis MP - Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance, 10 November 2024