DA’s stable coalition bills proceed to the next level, introduced in Parliament
24 April 2023
Today marks an important milestone in the DA’s efforts to stabilise South Africa’s coalition governments. Following the publication of the first suite of Bills on the Government Gazette for public comment a few weeks ago, these Bills are now set to be introduced in Parliament. The two Bills ready for deliberation in Parliament are the Constitution Nineteenth Amendment Bill and the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill.
These two Bills seek to achieve stability in all spheres of government by limiting the number and the circumstances under which motions of no confidence can be moved in a mayor, premier or the president. While motions of no confidence are a crucial accountability mechanism, they are susceptible to abuse as we have seen at a local government level.
Limiting the frequency and placing clear grounds under which these can be moved and voted on, will see a level of stability that is needed for effective service delivery. Firewalling governments against this kind of disruption will serve citizens better than is currently the case.
While we seek to limit motions of no confidence to a year, there will be a safety net built in that will allow additional motions within this period providing for exceptional circumstances, such as a violation of the Constitution or law; misconduct or the inability to perform the functions of office. This is a much higher threshold for a motion of no confidence and forces the movers to base these in fact or in law.