First ‘Coalition Stabilisation’ Bill Introduced In Parliament

Dear Editor

• The DA has introduced the Constitutional Nineteenth Amendment Bill in Parliament, aiming to limit the frequency of Motions Of No Confidence to once a year in Provincial Legislatures and the National Assembly.
• The Bill aims to create stability in coalition governments
• The DA believes that South Africa is likely to see coalition governments in the future and hopes to engage Parliament in creating a framework to better serve the country’s citizens.

The DA is pleased to announce that the first of its three Bills that seek to stabilise coalition governments across all three spheres of government has been introduced in Parliament today; directly to the Justice and Constitutional Development Committee.

This is a significant milestone in the legislative process that will be unfolding in Parliament in the coming months, where the Bills will be deliberated upon.

The Constitutional Nineteenth Amendment Bill seeks to limit the frequency of Motions Of No Confidence to once a year in Provincial Legislatures and in the National Assembly. Whilst Motions Of No Confidence are a critical accountability tool in our governance framework, specifically for MPs, MPLs and Cllrs, we have seen how destructive baseless motions have been at a local government level. This Bill seeks to insulate governance at a provincial and national level, but contains a critical caveat in that the limitations of the motions will not apply if there is proven violation of the Constitution and gross misconduct by the President or the Premier. We have, thus, additionally proposed an exception to the rule that we seek to introduce.

Research that we are looking at suggests that South Africa is likely to see coalition governments in several provinces next year; and, possibly, at the national level. Parliament now needs to be engaged fully with how we can create a legislative framework that guides coalition governments so that we can better serve South Africans.

We look forward to the introduction of the other two Bills in Parliament and the work that will ensue in the relevant portfolio committees, which seek to achieve similar stability at the local level. The DA welcomes the views of South Africans, interest groups and other political parties in this important law-making process.

We have communicated this commitment to the meeting convened by the Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, this morning. We undertook to present our full suite of the legislative proposals to the national dialogue that will be held at the end of July 2023.

The time has come for political leaders to put aside their differences and recommit themselves to serving South Africans in stable, clean and accountable governments, as our democracy matures and leaves behind the era of one-party dominance. Our proposals seek to ensure stability of governance regardless of which political formations lead government.

Regards

Siviwe Gwarube MP
Chief Whip of the Official Opposition