ANC odd one out when it comes to coalitions

Civil society and representatives from several political parties engaged in robust debate about what coalition politics means for the country.

Hosted by Defend Our Democracy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), the run-up to the national and provincial elections provides fertile ground for deeper analysis and dialogue.

Before proceedings began, Johann Kriegler, a retired Constitutional Court Justice, said, “I think if one thinks seriously about the elections, it is not the elections that are the problem, it is what happens after. If there is no clear winner at a provincial or national level we will need to contend with coalitions. You need role players who cooperate, something that has not been done well in the past.”

Opening the conference was Moss Mthla, Defend Our Democracy (DOD) national committee member who said, “Coalitions in one form or another have been around since 2016 which has negatively impacted service delivery and uncertain election results.”

He says DOD thought it important to give a platform to role players who can debate and discuss potential coalition scenarios at both a provincial and national level.

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Ismail Vadi from Defend Our Democracy said we are in an era of unpredictability.

“Nobody can predict what will happen at the elections or in society. Disruptions nationally and internationally have had severe economic and political ramifications.”

In the last seven years, Johannesburg has had nine mayors, “As a result, everything is collapsing.”

He explained that since the 40s, South Africa has had one dominant party in government at a time. “For the first time, we have multiple parties in government and are in unchartered territory.”

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“The impact on service delivery is dysfunctionality stemming from politicians that do not care because they worry about themselves and the ordinary citizens on the ground are the ones who suffer.”

INFO BOX

• 14.5m eligible voters have NOT registered
• 65.7% can vote
• Almost a 3rd of society will not be voting
• 27.79m registered to vote
• Over 50 parties contesting nationally and independent candidates
• 3 ballots: National, Regional and Provincial
• The number of registered voters is declining

Vadi says the parties to watch are:

• Action SA (ActionSA)
• African National Congress (ANC)
• Democratic Aliance (DA)
• Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
• Freedom Front Plus (FF+)
• Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)
• Patriotic Aliance (PA)
• uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK)

Vadi thinks the ANC is likely to remain a ‘bigger’ party and in government nationally. “The real fight is at provincial level with metros like Gauteng to continue being led via coalitions.

“A hung legislature in Gauteng is probable with the EFF possibly being the deciding factor. It is unclear what impact MK will have in this province yet, but if there is instability in KZN with the ANC and MK… we will have to see.”

These and other issues are why DOD launched its citizen election monitoring campaign in a bid to have as many non-political party-related eyes and ears at voting stations across the country on voting day.

Dr Thina Nzo from the Public Affairs Research Institute expanded on challenges with coalitions. “Fragile and unstable coalitions at the local government level have been a challenge for South Africa which raises uncertainty for future formations of coalitions at the provincial or national government. I believe this is becoming a perennial feature in our democracy.”

Smaller parties will continue to play kingmaker, she says. “This can be disruptive like when the EFF removed the mayor of Ekurhuleni, or how the mayor of Johannesburg comes from a party (Al Jama-ah) that had virtually no vote at all.”

She says it is imperative that political accountability of political parties and actors is strengthened through institutional oversight. “Where do we put civil society in this?”

Wayne Duvenage, CEO of Outa, said the collapse of eTolls was a good case study of how civil society can win when it is organised and focused.

“The problem at the moment is a lot of the sector is fragmented, becoming its own worst enemy when it has never been more important for collaboration.”

He said the same of politics.

“How do we get political parties to work for the greater good when they are working as a coalition?

“Coalitions at national level may come with challenges and those challenges will trickle down to the metros. Johannesburg’s budget is massive and we cannot allow it to fail any more than it already has with massive cities being so poorly run.

“How do we get civil society into the halls of politics without us being ostracised?”

Obakeng Kgatshe, Ahmed Kathrada Foundation manager for the youth desk, says, “Across the board we are all experiencing poor service delivery. We need to fight for more transparency and accountability from elected officials and the youth voice must be included.

“Civil society needs to find a united voice and mission by identifying which NGOs have what skills so they can be deployed when needed, but this requires collaboration and an end to working in silos.”

Political party positions in brief who were in attendance:

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ActionSA – Michael Beaumont

• We need more people stepping into the space of politics like today where CSOs engage in the political space.
• Whether the ANC acknowledges it or not, coalition politics is here to stay.
• The stability of single party rule has not done South Africa well in the past, nor the present.
• There is a creative tension that comes with coalitions – especially if they have a similar view of what is good for the country rather than individuals looking after only themselves.
• The multi-party charter is the largest block outside of the ruling party.
• Only 14 days after the election to form a coalition which is no time at all. This is why we are speaking among ourselves now to work on any issues or stumbling blocks to ensure a coalition works for the good of the people and the nation. Overseas, before a coalition government is formed they have months and months to prepare a working agreement with shared values.
• We have a similar declaration of intent and set of governing principles.
• The ANC is inseparable from the crisis we all face today.

  

ANC – Zuko Godlimpi

• An assumption I have heard today is that civil society is progressive, revolutionary and homogeneous and that there are some CSOs which are counterproductive and revolutionary.
• The second assumption made today is that all politicians are bad.
• These are the assumptions that need to be dispelled today.
• The ANC is not going into the elections looking for coalition partners. We want to win outright – it is counter productive to go into a battle or a game of soccer with the assumption that we want to share spoils.
• We have been looking for a progressive outlook for the country since we formed in 1912.
• And we want to unify different groups and clans to fight together.
• Should a coalition need to be formed, whichever party has the most votes should be the one to lead the coalition.
• A concern about coalitions is transparency about how they are managed and run.

  

DA – Cilliers Brink

• Our democracy is maturing at a fast rate, as is coalition politics.
• We won’t have a dominant political party again as it is giving way to the will of the people.
• A coalition will enable us to deliver on our mandate of change which stands up to public sector corruption and energy downfalls.
• As others have said, coalitions need to be formed with parties that have similar aims like non-racialism, the rule of law and a capable state that works for the citizens across this nation.
• This is why the multiparty charter is so important.
• Don’t enter into coalitions when you can’t implement your mandate and where it does not have a working majority. If you can’t win a vote it is a hostage situation, not a government.

  

• Johannesburg currently has 19 political parties which makes it very difficult to govern when there are sticking points.

IFP – Mkhuleko Hlengwa

• For a democracy to be strong, checks and balances need to be in place with the media holding the government accountable.
• Need thresholds of transparency, public accountability and political will to serve in the best interests of the country.
• Civil society also needs a strong agenda, a collective intent, to be a voice of reason and to draw on the experiences to manage meaningful change.
• South Africa currently has 66 hung councils – coalition politics is here to stay but needs to work better going forward and steer clear from power grabs and vote buying for them to be successful.

  

Rise Mzanzi – Ifraan Mangera

• We commit to multiparty democracy and part of the reason why is the coming together of different viewpoints that we can all benefit from while working for a common good.
• The current rules though are not designed to prevent a catastrophe as we have seen in Johannesburg with Al Jama-ah leading the city.
• We believe competition is important as having a single party in our context does not bring stability, quite the opposite. But competition among parties that have similar base beliefs like equality, non-racialism and shared values.

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