POLL | Do coalitions result in more harm than good?

A vote of no confidence in Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse has thrown the debate on coalitions back into the spotlight.

Minority parties are set to bring a motion of no confidence in the mayor on Friday following the election of Cope councillor Colleen Makhubela as council speaker earlier this week.

The Patriotic Alliance ditched the DA-led coalition in the vote and is expected to vote for the motion against Phalatse. According to TimesLIVE, the decision to jump ship came after the DA refused calls from coalition partners to give the speaker position to one of their coalition partners, preferably the IFP.

It is understood the PA has agreed to the ANC’s offer of two MMC positions in exchange for its support.

While some said coalitions were necessary and urged cooperation, others said they were too unstable and did more harm than good for residents.

In an open letter to residents, Phalatse said she will not resign and asked citizens to lobby councillors to protect and uphold their interests.

She claimed there are “nefarious actors working to urgently convene a meeting of council to dissolve the multiparty government and subsequently elect what can best be described as a corrupt cabal that will masquerade as a government”.

The drama comes after a coalition unseated the mayor in Nelson Mandela Bay and elected the DA’s Retief Odendaal.

In July, seven opposition parties — the DA, ACDP, African Independent Congress, Abantu Integrity Movement, FF Plus, PAC and UDM — agreed to form a coalition in the metro and remove the ANC’s Eugene Johnson.

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