The Potential of Coalition Governance in the City of Johannesburg to Realise Target 11.1 of Sustainable Development Goal 11

Abstract

The City of Johannesburg, just like any other municipality in South Africa, is required in terms of Target 11.1 of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) to ensure universal access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services, and to upgrade slums. Considering that coalition governments have recently become a recurring feature of governance in Johannesburg, this article assesses the potential of this feature of governance to realise Target 11.1. In the process, the article questions the extent to which the applicable legal and policy frameworks in South Africa enable coalition governments to pursue Target 11.1. The article reveals that the potential of this form of governance in the City is negatively affected by a number of factors such as the lack of a solid and predictable long-term legal framework to guide political parties in structuring and managing coalitions, lack of pre-planning for the possibility of coalition governance, lack of comprehensive coalition agreements, and lack of a coalition management framework. These deficiencies render coalition governments in the City of Johannesburg structurally unstable. This article reveals varied results for the potential of coalition governments in the City of Johannesburg to realise Target 11.1. Unless the generic benchmarks for successful coalition governments are embedded in South Africa’s legal system, it is established in this study that substantial challenges remain with this form of governance in realising Target 11.1 by 2030. The research is based on an interpretational analysis of primary and secondary sources of law.