Governance has not improved under local coalitions – MISTRA report
Keely Goodall
12 August 2025 | 11:58The Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection has published the Coalition Barometer Report.

Ballot papers being handled by IEC officials on 29 May 2024 as South Africans queue to vote. Picture: Skhu Nkomphela/Eyewitness News
702 and CapeTalk’s Mandy Wiener speaks with Professor Susan Booysen, Political Analyst
Listen below:
The MISTRA Coalitions Barometer II shows the organisation's findings on local, provincial and national coalitions between 2023 and 2025.
Booysen, a research consultant on this report, states that one of their key findings was that disagreements within coalitions have become increasingly common.
However, she says these fights or contests do not necessarily mean the coalition is likely to break up.
“This kind of behaviour has really become the lifeblood of the coalitions.”
- Professor Susan Booysen, Political Analyst
She adds that local government coalitions have influenced the GNU.
RELATED: Most South Africans favour coalition politics ahead of 2026 local elections - survey
Through monitoring local coalitions, they have also found that, unfortunately, governance has not improved, even as the coalitions have become more stable.
“That is a very disconcerting part of the research findings.”
- Professor Susan Booysen, Political Analyst
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