Will the complexities of coalition governments undermine local governance in South Africa?

The political-administrative dichotomy has long been a controversial and debated subject that centres on how to best structure effective and efficient relationships between politicians and administrators. But the traditional dichotomous paradigm, which tends to separate political and administrative functions, has only partially addressed the complexities of these relationships. 

Particularly, it has largely ignored the influence of coalition politics, a rising force in many governments today. Research on this subject has remained predominantly focused on the “managerial” and pragmatic interpretations of public administration, with most of the attention given to Western European contexts, leaving developing countries such as South Africa underexplored.

Against this backdrop, South Africa finds itself at a pivotal moment in its political evolution, where the increasing prevalence of coalition governments at both local and national levels marks a significant departure from the dominance of the single-party.

This shift brings both opportunities and challenges, particularly in the implementation of decentralisation policies. As divergent political parties come together to govern, the dynamics of governance become more complex, revealing new concerns such as the administrative effects of politically motivated killings of local government officials since 1994. 

In this context, the National Development Plan, which has been shaped by various policies since the advent of democracy in 1994, is critical to understanding the trajectory of the country’s governance structures. The evident political and administrative dynamics highlight a thorough consideration of the South African promise to the evolving decentralisation landscape. Addressing the ongoing rigidity in coalition-led government will require confronting the challenges encountered to ensure effective governance. 

Coalition dynamics and policy inconsistencies

Issues that delay the growth and delivery of effective governance and services threaten the capabilities of coalition governments in municipalities. Policy inconsistencies, fragmented implementation and delayed decision-making processes are caused by the lack of mutual concessions among coalition political parties. 

The ongoing instabilities in municipalities, which lead to dysfunctional and volatile governance, are created by inconsistencies that are influenced by various factors. As such, the potential benefits of decentralisation are weakened and public confidence in local government is undermined. Poor financial performances in municipalities are attributed to the frequent fallouts of coalitions. This results in unsustainable revenue streams and non-credible expenditures, where the misalignment of budgets and expenditures emerges. Municipalities then fail to cater for the needs and priorities of locally marginalised people. 

Coalition governments are designed on the principles of compromise, which is both an advantage and disadvantage. Inclusivity of policies in which the South African heterogeneous population is reflected, as the fallout can result in fragmented implementation and policy agendas that are contradictory. 

Conflicting priorities to the successful implementation of decentralisation, sprouts from different political parties within coalitions. By way of illustration, advocacy of municipalities granting greater autonomy resources might come from one party, whilst there other one envisions uniformity and control through a centralised approach. Therefore, these different views can create a gap in following a coherent strategy, which delays the roll-out of decentralisation and deems its effectiveness. 

In addition to that, continuous negotiations and consensus-building required from the coalition government, indicate a slow-down effect in crucial decision-making processes. This calls for urgent action, which is necessary in addressing crucial service delivery issues that are particularly problematic in most urgent sectors such as health, water, and sanitation. Loss of public trust in local governance by the resultant delays. Also, eroding the potential and impactful advantages of decentralisation. Fostered accountable, transparent, and effective local governance often conflicts with long-term governance objectives from models of the coalition government. 

Municipalities should adopt good leadership practices, employ qualified skilled personnel, and increase and promote community participation and advocacy. Thus, to mitigate these challenges and enhance improved service delivery. The negative effects of coalition dynamics can be counteracted by a holistic approach that will bring greater stability and accountability to local governance. The promise of decentralisation by the political structures meant to facilitate the process is continuously undermined, without the reforms. 

Policy coordination across government levels

Challenges and significant promising opportunities at different levels of government are presented at coalition systems, in pursuing efficient policy coordination. Policies of different parties with diverse priorities compel their set approaches, which sometimes are driven by coalition-led systems of inherent institutional divisions. 

Undeterred by the mentioned evident involved dynamics, coalition parties can yield effective policy coordination, across all subnational governments, demonstrating potential strong organisational linkages. Instance, synchronised actions between provincial government sub- and local governments in decentralised systems such as Canada, are imperative for innovation, in fulfilling coherent policy implementation. 

Managing complex interdependencies across all government levels is dependent on effective coordination. Collaboration in confronting head-on disparities in information, capacities, and resources, which are seen as a requirement, is important for infrastructure investments. The compatibility of coalition compositions and arrangements of different levels of government is not intrinsically advantageous or disadvantageous, particularly in multi-level governance settings. 

Factors of party dynamics propel the institutional frameworks governing intergovernmental relations. Moreover, these factors of actors’ relative bargaining powers at different levels drive its effectiveness.  Also, the coordination of policies and coalition-based systems governing effectively shows how decentralisation ought to work and succeed. 

Regardless of these challenges, enhanced policy coordination demonstrates that coalition governments offer unique opportunities. More cohesive policy strategies which align with local, provincial, and national priorities, when a coalition government (multiple parties) work together, can foster and promote a collaborative culture. The result of internal party cooperation can improve good governance and service delivery, through integrated policies in place.  Comprehensive support from provincial governments can drive efficient coalition-governed municipalities, leading to stronger governance outcomes. 

On top of that, coalition governments can have mechanisms for innovating efficient policies. This can be achieved by intertwining and interlinking each of the party’s tailored policies, aimed at confronting and improving the community’s needs. Thus, adapting, enhancing, and promoting good governance across all levels of government. The involved coalition frameworks opening up a platform from fostered dialogue and resource sharing, imperative for successful decentralisation efforts, can create opportunities for robust intergovernmental cooperation. 

The road ahead

Coalition governance in South Africa needs to navigate its complexities to reduce inherent risks, and harness the potential benefits of the decentralisation model.  As such, to support coalition dynamics and be consistent in realising effective decentralisation policies, institutional frameworks need to be strengthened. 

It is important for inter-party cooperation and conflict resolution guidelines to be established, thus, to ensure stable and good governance and avoid and mitigate deadlocks. In addition, the capacity of local governments should be enhanced. This will assist in establishing clear decentralised functions which is vital, and addressing disparities in skills, resources, and infrastructure across respective different municipal regions.  

Building and upholding the South African Batho Pele principles, particularly in transparency and accountability is important, in overseeing the running of coalition governments.  Performance monitoring, public oversight, and transparent decision-making processes are clear mechanisms that significantly improve the confidence in decentralised governance and public trust through community consultations and advocacy. Putting the needs of communities over political disinterests and expediency, a different perception from community members enables them to believe that coalition governments work in their best interest, thus can be seen as a right force for meaningful and impactful change.  

Moreover, fostering innovation and inclusivity in policy-making can be a positive output coalition government realises. This embraces diversity that coalition governments bring. Integrating different views from frameworks that coalition governments bring, opens up a platform for comprehensive and responsive policies, in addressing the immediate needs of different communities. The creation of policies tailored to the objectives of all spheres of government needs to be practised, and importantly incorporation of local input into decision-making processes. These communities understand and know their immediate priorities at hand. This will serve as a unique adaptability key that South Africa has in addressing its decentralisation challenges. 

Durable partnerships across all spheres of government can be seen as a potential for coalitions to take place. In enhancing the success of decentralisation initiatives, coordinated actions, resource pooling, and knowledge-sharing between national, provincial, and local governments need to be greatly encouraged.  The collaboration will help reduce foreseen governance risks, allowing and ensuring that municipal regions that hold less political power and financial leverage, participate effectively in the decentralisation process, without exclusion whatsoever. 

In the future, South Africa can demonstrate the powerful engines of progress through a coalition government. That is pushing for a focus on equitable governance, institutional resilience, and meaningful intergovernmental cooperation. 

The ability to provide effective service delivery and foster accountability from measuring coalition formation dictates and shapes the decision-making of the political alliances at both local and provincial levels. 

Local governance structures could be strengthened when executed with transparency and commitment to public welfare for the sake of the decentralisation process, which sometimes is obstructed by political instability to realise this potential. The ability of coalitions to overrule political differences and meet the needs of the communities they serve demonstrates the future success of decentralisation. 

Eventually, the sustainability of decentralised systems should be accompanied by the reinforcement of institutional frameworks, particularly governing local governments to benefit all the citizens. Also, coalition agreements should not be hinged by political expediency but rather be rooted in service delivery goals. South Africa can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of decentralised service provision, through the promotion of collaborations of trust among coalition parties and fostered engagements with citizens in the governance process. Without considering the underlying factors which could both be positive drives and negative holdbacks to the implementation of this model, decentralisation could be seen as yet another attempted failure of political manoeuvring, which could come with harsh consequences for South Africa’s democracy and development. 

Otshepeng Mazibuko is a social science researcher with a focus on local governance and its effect on people.