The National Dialogue on Coalition Governments [4-5 August 2023] was hosted by the Deputy President Mashatile, in collaboration with the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape.
“When we form those thresholds and frameworks and mechanisms that will guide us – just as the Constitution guides us – we must do this with the citizen in mind.
It is not only about politics; it also has to be about the administration. We cannot have political musical chairs played in the political realm of governance! We have to talk about how we create stability and professionalism in an administration process. At the same time, it is not about the Municipal Managers, the Director Generals, and the Heads of Departments who are also being shuffled around. When all sides are playing that game the citizens suffer, and service delivery suffers.
This dialogue must turn into a concrete framework, a concrete set of rules that we must urgently put in place to make sure that the next 30 years of governments in South Africa give the citizens the services, dignity, aspirations, and the environment that they deserve. We have that responsibility and opportunity here, and we must do it with the “fierce urgency of now”.
