Author: Mzwandile Masina
Foreword by Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, Former President of the Republic of South Africa
ISBN: 978-0-620-93859-4 (print), 978-0-620-94403-8 (electronic)
Publisher: South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM)
About The Book
The 2016 local government elections marked a turning point in South Africa’s history. While coalition governments had existed prior, the loss of political power by the African National Congress in the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and the City of Ekurhuleni, where the party maintained plurality but had to govern through a coalition, was unprecedented. It signalled a new era of diminished hegemony for the ANC and the end of the dominant-party system that had defined South Africa’s politics since the dawn of democracy. And while these coalition governments were characterised by institutional instability and systematic collapse, they set parameters for what is likely the future of governance in the country. In Future Realities of Coalition Governments in South Africa, City of Ekurhuleni Executive Mayor, Mzwandile Masina, investigates the socio-economic and political factors that led to the ANC’s haemorrhaging of electoral support. Coalition experiences across the metros, district and local municipalities, as well as case studies across the SADC region are explored. Through empirical evidence, the study seeks to make sense of how government practitioners and the electorate experience coalition governments. The salient question, and perhaps one of the most important of our time, is asked: Are coalitions the future of governance in South Africa?
Mzwandile Masina is the Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni and the ANC Ekurhuleni Regional Chairperson. He was formerly the Deputy Minister of the Department of Trade and Industry, where he had previously worked as the Director: Business Development and Customer Services. In 2012 he was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Gauteng Film Commission. Prior to that, he was Chief Operations Officer at the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation. He has worked for Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency as Programme Manager responsible for Targeted Groups and Uthingo Management as General Manager: Empowerment.
Masina studied at the University of the Witwatersrand School for Public and Development Management as well as the University of Pretoria where he graduated with a Master’s degree specialising in Entrepreneurship. He has attained numerous local short executive and development programmes where he gained knowledge and insight into various business management practices. He served as the General Secretary of the South African Youth Development Programme (SAYDEP) where he was responsible for policy input during the formation of the National Youth Commission.
Masina is a passionate political and social activist, committed to the pursuit of radical economic transformation as a panacea for the attainment of a national democratic society.