In light of the rise of local governments being run by coalitions in South Africa, the upcoming national elections in 2024 might present the country with its first multi-party governments. However, with recent events in some of these coalition governments, questions regarding the stability of this form of government are mounting.

Through its Vision 130, the University of the Free State (UFS) seeks to positively impact society by using empirical knowledge to make a real difference. It is to this end that the UFS Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences recently hosted a workshop with the theme Coalition Governance Leadership: a social innovation approach with inspiring ideas, inclusive institutionalisation, and impactful implementation, aimed at deliberating the need for an academic programme focusing on the governance and public management of coalition governments.

This comes after Prof Erwin Schwella, emeritus professor of Public Leadership from Stellenbosch University (SU), and currently Dean at Hugenote College – also well-known for his work in public management and public policy – approached Dr Maréve Biljohn, Head of the Department of Public Administration and Management, and the Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Prof Philippe Burger, to discuss such an academic programme.

Coalition governance part and parcel of South Africa’s landscape

The workshop was attended by Prof Schwella, Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal, and academics from the faculties of Economic and Management Sciences and The Humanities, especially the Department of Governance and Political Transformation.

Speaking at the workshop, Prof Petersen highlighted that coalition governance seems to have become part and parcel of South Africa’s landscape. “It is highly likely that we will see a significant increase in coalitions during the national elections next year. Coalition governments enable small parties to participate in government and even hold important positions of leadership. As a higher education sector, our role is to draw on the insights and expertise of specialists in public management and public policy to develop academic programmes that guide the governance and public management of coalition governments.”

As a responsible global citizen, the UFS is not only working towards developing an academic programme that addresses both governance and management pillars but is also committed to addressing the needs of the country.

Functionality and stability of coalitions are critical

Dr Biljohn believes that the current political landscape in South Africa predicts that political party coalitions will have a seat at the governance table across the three spheres of government.

“Since the last local government elections, we have seen the formation of political party coalitions across several municipal councils. The functionality and stability of these coalitions are critical for, among others, decision-making related to sustainable service delivery, the adoption of a council’s budget, as well as by-laws and policies.”

“Where these coalitions fail, the consequences are detrimental to the municipality from an operational as well as a governance perspective, and this could affect communities adversely. The current state of local governance in some South African municipalities requires an administration that is skilled to provide a stable environment for service delivery, while managing and navigating the dynamics of coalition governance,” said Dr Biljohn.

Moreover, she continued, after the 2024 elections, national and provincial administrations should be equipped to deliver on their mandate in a governance environment that could be subject to the demands of political party coalitions. With the new norm of coalition governance, it is incumbent upon political and administrative office-bearers to have the professional skills and knowledge to lead and manage coalition governance from a political, executive, and administrative level.

Fostering more cohesion among coalition partners

“Therefore, the Department of Public Administration and Management, in collaboration with the Department of Political Studies and Governance, aims to contribute to the professional development of political and administrative office-bearers in the three government spheres to navigate this new governance environment. In this regard, the development of short learning programmes that will be targeted at these office-bearers is currently under discussion,” concluded Dr Biljohn.

Prof Burger said as an institution of higher learning, “we want to focus on the creation of programmes that can assist in fostering more cohesion among coalition partners, while also training officials on how to handle coalitions”.