On Tuesday, former DA Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse filed a court application to have the election of ANC mayor Dada Morero reversed. Phalatse filed papers at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg seeking to have the council meeting that removed her from office declared unlawful and unconstitutional. But what’s behind the collapse of the coalition government at the Joburg Metro council, which has seen the DA lose both the speakership and the mayoral seat over the past month?
The tragedy of Johannesburg’s soap opera coalition mess
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont writes that any coalition run by the DA is doomed to fail because of the party’s inability to renegotiate coalition agreements and its inflexibility around which parties should rightfully be appointed to specific positions. Beaumont writes that all the leaders of the coalition partners met with the DA and explained that the IFP had been promised certain conditions that had not materialised and that when former DA speaker Vasco da Gama was removed, he should be replaced by an IFP candidate, but the DA refused, arguing its candidate should replace the speaker. Beaumont argues that had the DA agreed to this, Phalatse would probably still be mayor. (Daily Maverick)
IN-DEPTH | Coalition question: ‘They don’t care about destabilisation, they just want power’ – expert
Speaking to three experts, News24 found that when opposition parties seek to oppose coalition governments, they opt not to hold the government to account but to collapse it completely and have a new government put into place. The experts said South African politicians have shown a lack of maturity to run coalition governments, are in it for the power and do not care about destabilising the municipality, and most coalitions in SA thus far have been marriages of convenience rather than a coalition for the advancement of government. (News24, for subscribers)
Here’s what else we’re reading today:
- No one within the DA has chosen the path of introspection – The Citizen (for subscribers)
- Carol Paton | Eskom’s new board faces a thankless task – News24 (for subscribers)
- Howard Feldman | With everything we now know about electricity, we could all be on the Eskom board – News24 (for subscribers)
- TOM EATON | Even if the ANC loses a majority in 2024, it will stay with us, it will linger – Times LIVE (for subscribers)
- EDITORIAL: Failed deal a blessing in disguise for Prosus – Business Day (for subscribers)
- Devilish myth of idle hands drives justifications for virtual slave wages – Daily Maverick
