On the 23rd and 24th of May, Dr Klaus Kotzé represented the Inclusive Society Institute at the Masterclass on Coalition Governance. The event was hosted by the Hugenote School of Social Innovation in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. The event was well attended by a variety of South Africa’s political parties who actively and discursively contributed to making the event a success. In the whole, the attendees agreed on the need for clarity and workable structures for coalition governance.
Professor Erwin Schwella, Dean of the School of Social Innovation, facilitated the programme and explained that the attendant sessions would serve as a test case for the future Masterclasses that would be rolled out to party and governance officials. In an open and participative space, Professor Schwella sought the inputs from the various party officials and leaders present. It clearly emerged that political parties agreed that coalitions have been fraught with structural contention and contests for positions, as opposed to negotiations towards policy balance and societal advance.
In the last session of the programme, the Inclusive Society Institute presented its Coalition Training Assignment which will be included in future Masterclasses. The aim of the assignment is to challenge the participant to grapple with the likely 2024 election result whereby the ANC will maintain either an outright majority or would only require the support of one or two minor parties. It is the Institute’s goal to ready South Africans at large and the various parties for a future where multi-party coalition prevails. The Institute believes that, above all, trust, respect and generosity should steer the relations between political parties in serving the people of South Africa.