Proposed Local Government Bill aims to stabilise coalitions by 2028
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) is setting the stage for significant changes in local government with the proposed Local Government General Laws Amendment Bill.
Briefing the Cooperative and Traditional Affairs Portfolio Committee on the 2025/26 budget, the department's Xolani Xundu said the Local Government General Laws Amendment Bill will be finalised in this current financial year.
'We are aiming to make sure that by the end of this current financial year, at least the minister endorses that bill by March 2026, and then take it to Parliament in 2027,' Xundu said.
He said Cogta's target on the amendment bill was linked to the Medium Term Development Plan.
'It's not new, though. It's something that we've been doing,' Xundu said.
The department's presentation showed that the amendment bill was submitted to the Cabinet in March 2024.
It was then submitted to the technical working group of the Cabinet in March 2025.
The department plans to submit to Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa in March 2027 and support Parliament in the processing of the bill after March 2028.
The MK Party has since raised its concerns about the bills that sit before the portfolio committees.
The party's MP Visvin Reddy took aim at the Local Government Amendment Bill, which aims to restrict how often no-confidence motions can be tabled.
'This is an anti-democratic attempt to protect corrupt mayors and speakers from legitimate accountability. We will oppose this vigorously and certainly see this as some kind of a power-shielding tactic,' he said.
EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi noted that Cogta presented the process of amending the bill as far back as 2024 and according to their plan, it is going to take until 2028.
'We can't be taking forever to implement such important laws that are going to intervene in the state of local government in South Africa,' Mkhaliphi said.
She expressed her frustration that Cogta first introduced the draft law in 2024 and then took it to the Cabinet, only a year later, the technical working group from the Cabinet was to respond.
'What madness is that? I think we must have a way as Parliament, because Cabinet and executive committee are accountable here in this Parliament. We must have a way of telling them that this forever taking to deal with such amendments to laws is not acceptable,' Mkhaliphi added.
Meanwhile, Cogta said the draft white paper on local government will be submitted to Hlabisa by March 2026.
It said the recommendations emanating from the white paper will be implemented by March 2027.
Xundu said the draft white paper was submitted to the minister for endorsement.
'It is out for public comment as we speak and what we are aiming to do in 2025/2026 is to make sure that at least by the end of March, that document is endorsed by the minister.
'And then in 2026/2027, taking all the recommendations, then they are included in the document itself, and then we will have a reviewed white paper on local government afterwards,' he said.
DA MP Cathy Labuschagne said she was glad that the white paper was part of the annual performance plan.
'I assume that the changes in the white paper will definitely influence all this legislation, or is supposed to influence, because if it's not going to influence, it means that the white paper is just a revision without any changes,' she said.
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