OPINIONISTA: View from Afar: The worst-case scenario is a coalition in Gauteng By Saul Musker
Gauteng has outperformed the national government across the board, and has achieved some important policy successes – for example, it implemented a world-renowned school intervention programme in townships and achieved the highest matric pass rate in the country in 2018.
But few have considered what a loss of the ANC’s majority would mean for Gauteng after 8 May. If the ANC’s share is reduced below 50%, no party will win a majority in the provincial legislature. In this case, only three options are possible – and none of them bodes well for the future of the province.
Alternatively, the ANC could continue as a minority government, in the absence of a formal coalition arrangement. This would risk even greater uncertainty, as each provincial budget would have to be passed with the ad-hoc support of other parties, again distracting attention from the work of government and allowing smaller parties to hold the Premier to ransom.
The more likely outcome, however, is that none of the three major parties can assume power without a coalition. The danger of this is obvious: the EFF in Gauteng will become a kingmaker.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
OPINIONISTA: At its most epic moment, ‘Game of Thrones’ falls back on its formulaAfter Monday’s episode, ‘Game of Thrones’ is now halfway through its final season. ‘The Long Night’ was the hit series’ longest offering yet, and it represented a battle we’ve been waiting for since the series premiered in 2011.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Squeaky bum time in election 2019 — and Premiership racesLike the great man himself, Sir Alex Ferguson’s finest bon mot was punchy and to the point. His famous reference to how the final weeks of the race for the English Premiership was ‘squeaky bum time’ hit the nail on the head: Winning titles – like elections – is about not losing your nerve when the pressure is really on in the final furlong of the campaign.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: If you want to entrench the Occupation, boycott IsraelFor anyone interested in peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, the likely continuation of the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu is deeply depressing.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Twenty-five years later: A youth no longer at easeIs there really any such thing as a ‘born free’ South African? With youth unemployment and voting apathy sky high, and racially skewed socio-economic inequality, perhaps ‘born free’ South Africans should rather be called ‘post-apartheid’ South Africans.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Inclusion versus exclusion – democracy and national identity in the futureOPINIONISTA: Inclusion versus exclusion – democracy and national identity in the future By Saliem Fakir
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Magashule’s divisiveness in the ANC must be haltedThe unity of the ANC needs to be examined. The mixed-masala outcome of the ANC leadership contest at Nasrec in 2017 might not have been worth it.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Coronation or inauguration?The election has not even taken place and already signs abound of what is to come: More of the same.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Eskom’s crisis is nothing new and has nothing to do with State Capture (or me)State Capture has nothing to do with boiler and other failures at the Medupi and Kusile power plants – they are simply going through ‘early infant mortality failures’. Now is the time for decisive and strong leadership at the power utility.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Three generations of human rights: Balanced application will protect our poor and vulnerableVulnerable people at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder hardly have the leverage to exercise or have a full appreciation of their civic-political rights if they operate from a very weak social base. They are vulnerable to manipulation by the well-resourced economic, social and political classes or elite. The state ought to exercise positive discrimination that sometimes limit or encroach on first-generation human rights in order to affirmatively intervene on behalf of the vulnerable and historically marginalised.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Capitalist Party of South Africa: Latest ‘political disaster’ to hit the countryThe new-kid-on-the-block Capitalist Party of South Africa is anything but capitalist if one reads its founding principles carefully. And it’s the last thing South Africa needs, despite the country’s multiple problems.
Read more »
OPINIONISTA: Whose Democracy is it Anyway?This year’s Freedom Day celebration was unique not only because it was marking the silver jubilee since 1994, but it takes place 11 days before the country goes into the sixth national general election.
Read more »