The government will call a national dialogue on coalition governments in the next two months in a bid to forge a framework for political co-operation in the run-up to the 2024 general elections.
All political parties represented in parliament will be invited to the discussions, Mashatile said during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly on Thursday.
The purpose of the dialogue will be to develop a national framework for the formation and governance of coalition governments across all spheres of government, and would form the basis of legislation, he said, noting that the lack of a framework guiding coalitions had contributed to the dysfunctionality of municipalities and the instability of local governments.
“The matter of coalition government[s] is important and requires urgent attention and our collective wisdom,” Mashatile said. The national dialogue should not be delayed as the national and provincial elections will take place next year, he added.
Various surveys published recently indicate that the ANC could fail to secure an outright majority in 2024, and support for the ruling party could even dip below 50%.
“We want to build consensus because if we don’t ... we will fail our people and our economy will collapse. The time for unity of the country is now,” Mashatile said.
Political parties will be invited to make submissions to a technical committee led by the presidency and the department of co-operative governance & traditional affairs ahead of the dialogue.
Replying to a question by DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube on whether the ANC would support the DA private member’s bills intended to stabilise coalitions, Mashatile said they should be submitted as a contribution to the dialogue.
Mashatile outlined six principles which he believed should underpin any coalition:
• the people must be put first;
• a commitment to combating poverty and deprivation and building a growing and inclusive economy;
• contribute towards building a prosperous society in which people have access to land for productive purposes;
• a commitment to building a nonracial, non sexist, democratic, united and prosperous society;
• a commitment to good governance with no tolerance of corruption; and
• the party that wins the largest number of votes should lead the coalition with executive positions being allocated proportionately to the votes obtained by coalition partners.
Mashatile said these principles should form the basis of the national discussion. The instability of coalitions was caused by a lack of agreement on principles with the result that they became a fight for spoils.
FF+ chief whip Corne Mulder said Mashatile’s principles amounted to policy positions that should not be included in any law. He questioned the government’s was hurriedly preparation of coalition legislation in the face of the surveys pointing to declining support for the ANC.
Mashatile said the ANC wasn’t in favour of coalitions and would campaign to win next years election. However, it was necessary for the party to be realistic in the face of the instability of local government coalitions.
“We are saying that in the event where we end up not winning outright, then we are looking at what kind of approach do we take. If we are going into coalitions, how should they look?”
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