Parties urged to speed up coalition talks

THE National Assembly has urged all parties to work constructively to resolve the question of metros with no majority and hung municipalities.

The chairman of the portfolio committee on co-operative governance and traditional affairs, Richard Mdakane, warned yesterday that having minority councils could cripple service provision and create unstable coalition governments.

He said parties involved had to engage honestly.

Several parties are discussing coalitions in hung councils including the metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay.

The ANC has been stripped of its majority in those metros and is battling to keep them.

It needs partners to run the metros and has been in discussion with other parties.

Coalition talks have been ongoing over the past few days.

Mdakane called on parties to work with what they had as the voters had decided on the percentages received.

He said South Africa had a system that required councils to be formed within two weeks of the results.

“In other countries they are given a month to conjure up a government, but our system gives us two weeks. We must do with what we have,” said Mdakane.

He urged parties to take a leaf from Parliament’s book as parties worked together there all the time in drafting laws despite their different ideologies.

“There is the National Assembly where we work together no matter how we disagree with one another. There is no reason why you can’t work together in councils,” he said.

He said local government was about service provision and parties must think and work hard to realise that.

He said hung municipalities would not benefit anyone.

Instead, they would cripple service provision and create unstable councils.

Mdakane said South Africa was a stable democracy and this must be reflected in the discussions in forming coalition governments.

He said the mandate had been given by the voters and parties must stick to the outcome of the polls and work to form coalitions.

“They must meet, talk and negotiate because the whole issue is about serving the people,” he said.

There are a total of 27 hung councils in the country following last week’s polls.

Both the ANC and DA are engaged in discussion with other parties to form coalition governments in hung councils.