Situating Municipal Environmental Governance: Democratisation and Municipal Politics

Discussions of democratisation and the political legacy of struggle have been common in relation to the conceptualisation of post-liberation states in Southern Africa and beyond (Bereketeab and (Ed.). , 2018). According to Jager and ed., , 2015, 9), the concept of democratisation in LG can be described as “a process of creating democratic institutions and overall democratic citizenship rooted in a democratic political culture”, while democratic transition refers to stages of state-society-institutional change from authoritarian to more democratic politics and formations. These stages in Southern Africa could be conceptualised as place-specific trajectories and social transformations, shaped and constrained by histories of settler colonialism and the anti-colonial nationalist movements that fought against them, where a range of issues are contested; these include political representation, institutional development and regime incumbency (Kotze, 2018). In this light, many African states have become electoral democracies, but others are still run by electoral authoritarian regimes (Lindberg, 2006), and/or exhibit procedural but not more substantive emancipatory extensions of rights and functions (Croucher, 2002). In such contexts, alternation of power, or electoral turnover between incumbents and opposition, has been recognised as a key signifier of successful democratisation (Lindberg, 2006), but one which has been taken for granted and received limited empirical research (Kotze, 2018).

South Africa’s post-apartheid democratic transition was widely lauded as a textbook case (Croucher, 2002), yet declining support for the political incumbent, factionalism,Footnote 1 state-capture and the decline of state-owned entities has raised questions about the promises and challenges of post-African National Congress (ANC) hegemony (Grootes, 2023). There is currently a political “coalition moment” in SA,Footnote 2 a stage of transition from single to coalition councils in LG (Justesen & Schulz-Herzenberg, 2018), adding further complexity to a LG milieu where political contest and factionalism are common (Nzo, 2019; Olver, 2018). There are some indications that smaller political parties can have decisive power in coalition formation (Roodt, 2022), and some level of coalition pessimism, given experiences so far in major metros (Grootes, 2023). Yet despite emerging analysis of the kinds of “coalition governance” that arise (see Bradshaw & Breakfast, 2019; De Vos, 2021; Roodt, 2022), there is little analysis of alternation and coalition governments and the effect they have on local EG. This is what we will seek to address in this paper.

Municipal governance and its politics are crucial in the context of post-liberation state formation (Kotze, 2018). The Department of Environmental Affairs (2004: 54) defined EG as “the processes of decision-making involved in controlling and managing the environment and natural resources”. We explore governance at the local level within the political-administrative interface of both local and district municipalities.Footnote 3 Other actors play key roles, including the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), the departments of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), as well as civil society actors and citizens groups (though the latter two are not significantly featured in the case study). We provide an analysis and discussion of both coalition and single council contest in the Endumeni Local Municipality (ELM) and the uMzinyathi District Municipality (UDM) in KZN, SA from 2016 to 2021. We utilise a broad Political Ecology (PE) approach to examine the fragile and contested political environment within the ruling party and between opposition parties that tussle for political control over the council, municipal operations and municipal resources. We demonstrate that in the context of alternation, both single party and coalition councils in LG experience political contest and instability, regardless of who governs. This influence is predominantly negative for local EG, but in some instances can facilitate it.

The findings emphasise the importance of alternation as a political moment, and complicate the narrative that coalition governments are by their very nature problematic, even as we critique them. Rather we point to a broader and ongoing need for council policy reform, local council stability (of both single and coalition councils), municipal competence and accountability to take advantage of this moment for the civic good going forward. The paper commences with a literature review; thereafter, the research context and methodology, followed by the research findings, discussion and conclusion.

Political Parties, Coalition Councils and Factionalism in Municipal Environmental Governance

Political parties are vital in LG globally and influence service delivery and EG to a significant degree, as their mandates determine administration, operations, competence and leadership structures in LMs (see Copus & Erlingsson, 2012; Sampe, 2021). There are a range of studies that illustrate this, including, amongst others, studies conducted by Copus and Erlingsson (2012) in England, Mei and Wang (2017) in China, Bucchianeri (2020) in North America and Sampe (2021) in Indonesia. The literature that covers post-apartheid municipal change is diverse, and this section details some of the key dynamics that have been identified.

According to Kotzé (2015), the political culture in post-apartheid SA is multifaceted and the South African constitution encourages a political culture based on human rights and equality. The implementation of a democratic culture is important for political parties to ensure political interest from the public (De Jager & Steenekamp, 2016). However, De Jager and Steenekamp (2016) suggest that two attributes of the socio-political environment are particularly salient; first, that identities have been formed from the Apartheid legacy — where the political culture and political awareness develops from the mindset and beliefs of an individual and shape their expectation of governance and secondly, socio-economic issues affecting impoverished communities such as inequality and poverty remain prevalent. What arises from this is that political socialisation is influenced by opportunities to escape poverty and provide financial sustainability in return for political loyalty on the one hand (De Jager & Steenekamp, 2016), while on the other hand democratic political fatigue occurs with declining quality of governance (see Olver (2017) discussion of this dynamic in the ANC). This is acknowledged to precipitate significant shifts in the political landscape, which have significant effects (Koekemoer, 2017) and while the ANC “continues to derive power from its role as the party of national liberation, pluralistic party competition is deepening” (Paret, 2014, 421).

At a local level, democratic LG is supported by the majority of South Africans (Chikulo, 2013), but in a post-apartheid context and a shifting political landscape evidencing declining ANC support, there are a range of issues that affect LG. As with state formation at the national level, it might be understood that local state formation occurs amidst the hybridity of South African post-apartheid formation (see Thakur & Nel, 2021) and articulated with democratic developmentalism, as well as with the Apartheid legacy and newer neopatrimonial tendencies within the state. Regarding municipal politics, this context precipitates forms of coalition governance, factionalism, contestation and in some cases political violence as contestation of municipal politics increases. We cover the available literature on these in turn.

Numerous studies have documented the challenges associated with both single and coalition councils in SA and their impacts on service delivery and municipal operations (see Mokgosi et al., 2017, Phadi et al., 2018, De Vos, 2021 and Joshua et al., 2022). Present cases of coalitions have indicated fragmented leadership, mistrust and political contest leading to erratic service delivery and LMs placed under administration, hence the focus on LG council coalitions in this study. Council coalitions provide an opportunity for different parties in SA to negotiate and form collective political mandates. Bradshaw and Breakfast (2019) suggested that contested coalitions implement a conflict management and power sharing approach to ensure coalition sustainability. Khumalo and Netswera (2020) claim that coalitions can potentially govern effectively depending on party mandates and political incentives. However, Joshua et al (2022) claim that party differences impact coalition sustainability resulting in inadequate service delivery. De Vos (2021) critiqued the South African constitution and municipal legislation for possessing inadequate procedures and legislation for coalition councils.

Factions arise from power struggles between party members to obtain resources and political authority of a certain area (Mukwedeya, 2016). Studies conducted globally on factions in LG have confirmed that power struggles over resources and decision making are common not only in SA but also on a global scale indicating the political contest and factions are prevalent in LG throughout the world (see Mei & Wang, 2017 and Bucchianeri, 2020). In SA, the ANC party has a history of factionalism (Olver, 2017). Mukwedeya (2015) and Olver (2018) revealed how intraparty factionalism in the ANC structures negatively influenced local EG. Intraparty factionalism occurs within the same political party and interparty factionalism occurs between two or more political parties (Kotze, 2018). Political elites in SA possess authority of choosing election candidates for local council positions, this process leads to intraparty factions based on personal party preferences (Kotze, 2018). Gatekeeper politics has also become prevalent in LG, where political leaders in authoritative positions dictate the access to and distribution of state resources that contribute to crony capitalism and the rise of intraparty factions (Beresford, 2015). Reddy (2018) emphasised that LMs governed by faction-based councils prioritise political mandates over service delivery and environmental priorities.

When the instrumental benefits of a democracy are not achieved, protest action is common, especially in informal and township settlements in SA (Dawson, 2014). Onwuegbuchulam (2021) emphasised that political violence is also experienced in local communities between supporters of different political parties, especially during election campaigns. Political violence also occurs within the same political party through internal political factions (Cooper, 2015). The political killings of political leaders and influential community politicians have also increased and are linked to political power struggles and access to state opportunities, as well as changing political leadership structures (Onwuegbuchulam, 2021).

Finally, in democratic SA, there is evidence that political dynamics impact environmental health issues in townships and informal settlements. For instance, Olver (2018) found that environmental issues were not prioritised in communities and there were environmental injustices from factional battles within the Nelson Mandela Bay council. Nzo (2019:3) also identified political conflict between local councillors and regional ANC leadership in the Kalahari LM, “there are tensions between representing the interests of the ANC regional party, national government priorities and communities”. According to Bruce (2014) and Olver (2017), local councillors are forced to abide to the rules of powerful elites in the private sector or face the consequences of replacement, as there are power structures beyond the council administration that decide political power structures in LG.

The use of the PEA in local politicised EG studies in SA is lacking; however, there are studies that have utilised aspects of the PEA such as political conflict, power struggles and environmental injustices (see Pasquini & Shearing, 2014; Olver, 2018). We utilised the PEA as a theoretical lens to address the literature deficiency and provide an in-depth analysis of how local contested politics and power dynamics influence local EG in SA. Environmental politics is a sub-discipline of the PEA and in this research focuses on how LG and communities interact politically with the environment. With an understanding of this literature in mind, we turn specifically to municipal EG in our case study context.

Context and Methodology

SA is a politically diverse country with a history of political contest and factionalist tendencies, and while the ANC has maintained its hegemony, pluralistic party competition has deepened (Paret, 2014). Since the 1994 democratic elections, the ANC had governed the majority of LMs in SA, even though factionalism increased, especially in the KZN province (De Jager 2015). Contemporary South African politics is embroiled with contest and factionalism between and within political parties. Intra and inter party factions are apparent in all scales of government in SA, ranging from the national level between party leaders, to regional factional battles between opposition parties and both intra and inter party factions at the local scale for council positions (Olver, 2018). The rise in political contest in the KZN province during the last decade has resulted in increased cases of political killings and assassinations between and within political parties for political and municipal leadership positions (De Haas, 2016; Kotze, 2018). Therefore, the chosen municipal case study sites are located in KZN and have also experienced instances of political contests, factionalism and alleged assassination attempts.

After declines in ANC support in the 2016 and 2021 local elections, there was an associated increase in coalition councils. Local council coalitions have been described as “marriages of inconvenience” (Booysen and (Ed.). , 2021,1) and are relatively new to LG in SA. Major political parties in SA are now applying numerous coalition strategies and alliances with different minority parties to suit their political agenda such as voting for minority party councillors to hold positions of responsibility in councils and creating new and often temporary alliances (Grootes, 2023). Jager and ed. (2015) asserted that smaller political parties in SA influence decision-making and collaboration in coalition councils. Turning to the case study municipalities, a contested municipal politics exemplifies tensions faceted elsewhere in the country at the current juncture (Fig. 1). 

Fig. 1
figure 1

The study site map 

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The UDM is a district municipality located in the North-West of the KZN province in SA. The four LMs in the UDM are the Umvoti, Endumeni, Msinga and Nquthu LMs. The major towns are Dundee and Greytown and the main economic and administrative activities are tourism and agriculture. The seat of the UDM is located in Dundee (IDP 2019/20). Dundee also accommodates all the major departmental and governmental headquarters for the district. The UDM is predominately rural populated with agriculture being the main contributor to community livelihoods. The UDM is regarded as one of the most impoverished DMs in KZN with diverse socioeconomic issues. The topography of the UDM varies from grasslands, wetlands and deep river valleys to mountains, hills and savanna (IDP 2019/20). The main towns are Dundee, Glencoe and Wasbank. The ELM accommodates several departmental and regional government offices and is popular for its high standards of education and schooling facilities (IDP 2019/20). The population is predominantly urbanised or situated on commercial farms. Over 60% of the population is youth with the majority of youth in a state of economic inactiveness, hence the ELM is struggling with a huge percentage of youth unemployment (IDP 2019/20).

During different election periods from 2000 to 2021, the ELM and UDM were governed interchangeably by the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) with few instances of an IFP, Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) coalition council. This interchangeable governance and political leadership contributed towards political contest and factions, as different ward councillors, ward committees and stakeholders abided to different political mandates. There have been previous instances of intra and inter party factions in the ELM and UDM that resulted in collapsed councils and the municipalities been placed under administration, impacting EG by contributing towards a lack of decision making and the misuse of environmental resources. Currently, after the 2021 local elections, the ELM is governed by an IFP, DA and Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) coalition and most of the council seats in the UDM belongs to the IFP.

The research methodology was directed by a pragmatic research philosophy. A pragmatic methodology allowed for a flexible research approach that included diverse data collection techniques and strategies. We utilised both inductive and deductive research approaches and a mixed method approach that included both qualitative and non-statistical quantitative methods. The qualitative methods consisted of unstructured and structured direct observation, focus groups, meetings and workshops, as well as in-depth formal and informal key informant interviews and community-based interventions. The quantitative method comprised of a community questionnaire survey that was administered to a total of 600 respondents within all seven wards of the ELM. The community questionnaire was administered using a stratified sampling technique.

The research findings were obtained from diverse stakeholders that possessed valuable information on contested local governance, environmental-based service delivery and EG. We applied purposive and snowball sampling to choose relevant stakeholders as municipal officials, government department officials, municipal councillors, politicians, ward committee members, the private sector, civil society and targeted impoverished communities. We applied a Grounded Theory (GT) research strategy that resulted in continuous and rigorous data collection to the point of data saturation and theory formation. Data saturation was achieved by implementing a recursive sampling process of stakeholder interviews. Secondary data was also obtained and integrated for a contextual and theoretical perspective of the research problem. The research findings were presented and analysed thematically using a GT approach, graphs and thematic coding.

Politically Contested EG in the Endumeni and uMzinyathi Municipalities

In this section, we identify and discuss the effects of political contest and instability on local EG with the study sites.

The Hostile Emergence of Political Contest (2016–2019)

During the period between 2016 and 2019, the municipalities experienced political contestations between political parties, and this influenced EG-based decision making, and access to environmental resources and interventions, as well as environmental budget availability and the procurement of environmental based resources and services. In the 2016 South African LG elections, the political parties of the IFP, DA and the EFF formed a coalition council in the UDM and ELM. This was unprecedented as the ANC consistently governed the UDM and ELM after the Apartheid regime. According to ELM and UDM officials, “the IFP, DA and EFF coalition resulted in political and leadership conflict in both the ELM and UDM councils” (Interview, 15 March 2022, Dundee, SA). The coalition council was fragmented, and council meetings were disrupted by disagreements and a lack of consensus between councillors. The main reason for the disruption of council meetings was that even though the ANC councillors were outnumbered in the ELM and UDM councils, “they opposed the decisions made by the coalition” (Interview, 8 April 2022, Dundee, SA) The councils’ disagreements and political instability largely influenced EG and municipal operations negatively, as consensus on capital and operational budget, procurement and resource allocations could not be achieved.

In 2017, the ELM was placed under administration by the department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) after there was a case of attempted murder and political in-fighting within the council. An ELM official emphasised that “when there is political conflict in a municipality, all local forums and war rooms are impacted and environmental issues are not discussed, only political strategies” (Interview, 21 June 2021, Dundee, SA) According to an ELM official, “the former mayor of the ELM was accused of plotting to assassinate the former speaker, as they belonged to the same party and the reasoning behind the accused assassination was alleged to be dodgy tender contracts” (Interview, 12 May 2020, Dundee, SA). Bruce (2014) and Reddy (2018) found that fraud and corruption allegations in South African LMs resulted in decreased community trust in LG. This was similar in the ELM, as communities were striking, municipal operations were affected and municipal employees were left under-resourced with fragmented leadership. An ELM official claimed that “a contested municipal environment results in a backlog of service delivery and this impacts communities severely” (Interview, 12 June 2020, Dundee, SA).

The accused murder plot and in-fighting between the mayor and speaker resulted in the suspension of their party memberships and the ELM council were forced to elect a new speaker and mayor in 2018. The appointments of the new mayor and speaker was infested with internal betrayal by a councillor that belonged to the coalition council and voted against the mandate of his political party. An ELM official stated that “the councillor voted for the speakers position from the opposing party in exchange for the position of mayor” (Interview, 5 February 2021, Dundee, SA). This angered his political party, and the new mayor was reprimanded, his political membership was suspended, and he was removed from the mayor’s position. Kotze (2018) also found that the choosing of council positions in LMs leads to intraparty factions based on personal preferences within the party.

The constant power struggle between different political parties in the municipal councils impacted EG mandates such as delays in environmental service delivery. The contested political power struggle within the municipal councils also impacted the procurement of resources, the approval of environmental interventions and the recruitment of qualified environmental staff. The severity of this situation was emphasised by an ELM official, “when there is political conflict, decision making and approvals are neglected, not only for the environmental department but other departments within the municipality” (Interview, 12 November 2020, Dundee, SA). Olver (2018) also highlighted the deprioritising of environmental responsibilities by council instability.

The findings in Fig. 2 indicated that majority of community respondents from wards (1,5,6,7) agreed that political contest in the council influences EG within their wards. The respondents claim, “that council decision-making and the work ethic of officials impacted environmental issues” (Interview, 23 June 2020, Dundee, SA). Some respondents also complained that “political bias from councillors exists in certain areas of the wards that are purposively exposed to environmental interventions more than opposition areas” (Interview, 23 June 2020, Dundee, SA). Most community respondents from wards 2, 3 and 5, felt that the council and municipal officials have no direct influence on EG, claiming “that even when the council and officials provide environmental awareness, some of us do not listen and continue to degrade the environment” (Interview, 23 June 2020, Dundee, SA). The respondents also emphasised that “the environment is used as a political campaigning tool between contested parties, and this causes conflict within the community” (Interview, 23 June 2020, Dundee, SA).

Fig. 2
figure 2

Contested council influence on EG in the Endumeni municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 2020

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The political contest between community supporters from opposing parties also influenced EG in the municipalities. An ELM official stated that “community members that supported different political parties practiced unsustainable environmental practices by illegally dumping and burning waste, as well as damaging community parks and gardens” (Interview, 24 August 2020, Dundee, SA). It was also evident that the coalition council approved environmental interventions for their governing wards and neglected wards governed by the opposition resulting in community conflict. An ELM official claimed that “environmental interventions were converted into campaigning tools by the local politicians to obtain additional political support resulting in community conflict” (Interview, 24 August 2020, Dundee, SA). Onwuegbuchulam (2021) also identified political contest in local communities between supporters of different parties, especially during election campaigns.

The Political Transition in 2019 to 2020: from Coalition to Single Governance in the ELM

The political transition in the ELM commenced at the beginning of 2019 after the former ELM mayor was suspended and a by-election was planned for ELM ward 3. An ELM councillor stated, “the former mayor decided to defy orders by the IFP and acted on personal interests, which led to the termination of his membership” (Interview, 19 August 2021, Dundee, SA). The ward 3 by-election took place in May 2019 and the ANC won the ward. The ward 3 council seat stabilised the ELM, positively impacting the broader service delivery and environmental priorities of the ELM. An ELM official claimed that “the new council adopted a different list of priorities that focused more on EG issues” (Interview, 19 August 2021, Dundee, SA). The ANC governed 7 of the 13 ELM council seats. However, another by-election in ward 7 of the ELM was confirmed when a DA councillor opted to resign and relocate for personal reasons.

The ward 7 by-election was conducted in June 2019. The ANC won again. An ANC official stated that “the ANC implemented numerous strategies to win ward 7” (Interview, 8 September 2021, Dundee, SA). An alleged politically motivated plan was implemented by ANC councillors that focused on environmental interventions in ward 7. An ANC politician stated that “the by-election was intensely contested by three major political rival parties- The ANC, DA and IFP and the ANC won ward 7 by over 600 votes” (Interview, 8 September 2021, Dundee, SA). This resulted in a change of the ELM council structure. The ANC now controlled 8 of the 13 ELM council seats and COGTA decided to place the municipality off administration. After the ELM coalition administration was weakened in 2019, the ANC administration allegedly implemented a “purge” of all unlawful and unqualified employees that were hired by the previous administration as this was alleged to be affecting the standard of service delivery and EG in the ELM. A sense of political stability was restored, and the council could make decisions on EG issues. However, the ELM council still consisted of IFP, DA and EFF councillors.

Internal Political Contestations in 2020—The Cracks Within the Ruling Party in Endumeni

The initial governance by the ANC council in the ELM seemed promising, however, in 2020 cracks in the administration were apparent and a factional battle occurred within the ANC council. An ELM official stated, “the faction consisted of two sides, the mayors allies, and the speakers allies” (Interview, 8 September 2021, Dundee, SA). Studies conducted by Mukwedeya (2015) and Olver (2018) revealed how intraparty factionalism in ANC structures negatively influences local EG in SA. The ANC council in the ELM engaged in contested political battles for resources and power. Mukwedeya (2016) also found that factions arise from power struggles between party members to obtain resources and political authority of a certain area.

The ANC council gradually shifted their priorities towards a more power-hungry mindset that focused more on the control over municipal resources, incentives and opportunities. There were disagreements in the ANC council over the privatisation of the ELM landfill site. It was alleged that the ruling party faction wanted to award the landfill site contract based on their political agenda. An ELM official claimed that internal factions within the ruling party affected the environmental sector as “funds were channelled into political mandates instead of environmental priorities” (Interview, 12 September 2021, Dundee, SA). There was also tension in the municipal workplace between workers from the ruling party, as stated by an ELM official, “the current council is not good, they are not employing enough permanent workers, they are misusing the budget” (Interview, 12 September 2021, Dundee, SA).

The use of environmental resources for political reasons was also apparent in the ELM. The ANC councillors provided opportunities for specific community members such as employment opportunities for community members from the mayor’s ward. This led to protest action by community members from the deputy mayors ward and even threats to burn municipal buildings, “this is unfair, we will burn the municipality, they are playing with us” (Interview, 4 March 2021, Dundee, SA). It was also evident that certain comrades were angered by temporary employment opportunities, “I worked hard for the ANC, yet other comrades are rewarded” (Interview, 4 March 2021, Dundee, SA). The intraparty factions in the ELM resulted in workplace disobedience and an increased workload for workers that supported different political factions. It seemed as if factionalism acted as a cancer within the ANC and conflict arose for political power that had knock-on implications on EG in the ELM.

The Political Transition in 2021: from Single Back to Coalition Governance in the ELM

The 2021 local elections resulted in most KZN LMs governed solely by the IFP or an IFP led coalition council. The ANC failed to regain council leadership in the ELM, as an IFP, DA and ABC coalition council formed the leadership structure. A former ANC councillor claimed that infighting and intra-party factions in the local ANC branches resulted in the opposition parties taking control of the municipality, “we must blame ourselves, we could not agree, comrades fought during election meetings” (Interview, 10 December 2021, Dundee, SA). An ANC member emphasised that factions are dividing the party and contributing to the loss of elections, “we need to work together, fighting for power and control must stop” (Interview, 10 December 2021, Dundee, SA).

The new coalition council in the ELM has been stable and there are currently no instances of political contestation or instability. Presently, EG is prioritised by the new council, a newly elected councillor stated, “people must learn to live in a clean and healthy environment, we want Endumeni to be an environmentally friendly municipality” (Interview, 9 January 2022, Dundee, SA). This seems promising, however judging from the actions of previous coalitions, the occurrence of political contest and instability is likely to occur again as recently evident in numerous coalition councils in SA (see Booysen and (Ed.). , 2021, Roodt, 2022).

The Effects of Contested Local Politics on EG in Endumeni and uMzinyathi

We now list and discuss five EG factors that were impacted by contested local politics and factionalism in the ELM and UDM during 2016–2021.

The Political Contest Between Different Councils and the Prioritising of Environmental Services for Specific Community Wards

The different political agendas between the UDM and ELM resulted in conflict between the councils and administrations of the municipalities. The conflict affected environmental service delivery and EG, as there is a fragile working relationship and political rivalry between the councils. An ELM official claimed that “information about environmental interventions is rarely provided to the ELM by the UDM” (Interview, 11 March 2021, Dundee, SA). The municipalities implemented collaborative environmental interventions in the past and there was conflict between officials and councillors regarding the recruitment of politically inclined employees and the location of environmental interventions.

The municipalities adopted different political mandates and priorities. A relevant example of political contest in the municipalities was the shortage of water in the ELM. An ELM official claimed that this was caused by “the municipalities not agreeing to political ideologies” (Interview, 11 March 2021, Dundee, SA). The UDM only assisted communities that supported their ruling party. This may seem unethical; however, as stated by an ELM official “if it is your family member or if you are in that situation, it seems ethical” (Interview, 11 March 2021, Dundee, SA). The factors of political support and geographical location were influential factors in communities receiving environmental services from the municipalities, these aspects of the PEA were also identified by Krupa and Burch (2011) and Hansen (2014).

The municipalities often serviced communities that were political loyal and provided inadequate environmental services to opposition governed communities. A UDM official stated, “the services offered in politically loyal communities ensures that community members are satisfied, and their votes were meaningful to the council” (Interview, 13 March 2021, Dundee, SA). The timeframe of environmental service provision in community wards also varied depending on the political leadership of the wards. An ELM official claimed that “the political strategy of withholding environmental services is applied to punish the opposition communities for voting for the opposition” (Interview, 13 March 2021, Dundee, SA). It was also apparent that councillors directly instructed municipal officials to provide services within their wards. In most instances, municipal officials were hired by councillors, therefore they were expected to abide to council instructions and ensure community complaints are attended to timeously. An ELM official stated that “officials connected to the council perform the role of municipal soldiers that are controlled by councillor preferences” (Interview, 13 March 2021, Dundee, SA).

The Implementation of Environmental Interventions in Favoured Communities that Supported The Ruling Party

Environmental interventions were more frequently implemented in communities that were governed by the ruling party as a reward for their support. The municipal councils were involved in planning and implementing environmental interventions. An ELM official emphasised that “the council supports sector-funded interventions because they get to be in the forefront of recruitment and planning stages of the interventions” (Interview, 14 March 2021, Dundee, SA). The environmental department managers from the municipalities were forced to target certain locations within communities for the implementation of environmental interventions. An ELM official stated that “the ruling council and community members were seen wearing political attire and councillors claimed that environmental interventions are coordinated by the ruling political party” (Interview, 13 March 2021, Dundee, SA). However, the environmental interventions were initiated by external stakeholders. This occurrence created tension between communities as interventions were not fairly and equally implemented in all communities. The incentives and opportunities from environmental interventions such as employment opportunities were also prioitised for community members that supported the ruling party.

Environmental Contestations Between Council Members and Municipal Officials that Support Different Political Factions

The municipal councils and officials faced challenges in environmental-based decision-making due to different factions in the municipalities. In 2020, the ANC possessed majority of the council seats in the ELM and attempted to recruit municipal workers that supported the ANC. The municipal workers that were hired by the previous opposition council proved difficult to work and disobeyed instructions from the ANC council. An ELM official stated that “the council controls the municipal officials like puppets because of job security and access to municipal benefits” (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA). An ELM official claimed that the council allegedly “disapproved additional budget for his department because he supports a different faction” (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA), indicating that political differences contribute to budget accessibility. The occurrence of contested political dynamics between the council and officials also contributed to environmental service delivery delays and a lack of environmental resource procurement.

The municipalities are responsible for different sectors of environmental service delivery, for example the UDM is mandated to manage water and sanitation facilities, and the ELM is responsible for refuse removal. There is usually a lack of communication between the councils and managers from the municipalities. An ELM official emphasised that “environmental service responsibilities between the councils and officials are usually fragmented and lacking” (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA). There are continuous service delivery accusations between the municipalities, and this is common between district and LMs that are governed by different political parties in SA and globally (see Bawa, 2011; Pasquini & Shearing, 2014; Mukwedeya, 2016; Olver, 2018).

Labour Dynamics and Insufficient Resources in a Contested Political Environment

There were numerous instances of labour challenges and insufficient environmental resources in the municipalities. An ELM official stated that it is challenging to achieve environmental service delivery and EG goals because of “political in-fighting and conflict” (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA). A UDM official complained that there was a lack of general workers and machinery to complete duties in the environmental sector, “especially during periods of political contest and council instability” (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA). The municipalities were reliant on external stakeholders for funding environmental resources. The councils welcomed environmental-based interventions from external stakeholders but controlled the recruitment of workers and the distribution of environmental resources. This places severe pressure on environmental officials to perform within a resource deficient and politically contested workplace environment.

There were also political contestations between permanent municipal workers in the municipalities. The political tension between municipal workers impacted daily operations, as disagreements and unequal distribution of tasks were common in the environmental department of the municipalities. Municipal workers brought political issues into the workplace, impacting environmental service delivery, as confirmed by an ELM official, “workers participate in political duties and take leave to campaign, and this impacts service delivery provision”. (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA). The officials favoured general workers that supported their political party or faction and would allegedly target workers that belonged to another political party or faction. The councils also attempted to suspend and remove opposition officials and allegedly lured workers into providing implicating information, “councillors approached us and offered better salaries if we provided information about certain officials” (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA). Nzo (2019) also found that factional mandates are implemented when political leadership changes and this results in the removal of permanent municipal workers that were recruited by the previous council or dominant faction.

Political Priorities Over EG Mandates in a Contested Political Environment

Both municipal councils prioritised political related activities ahead of environmental issues. The municipal budget for the environmental departments were usually decreased to accommodate for salaries and political events, especially during political contest. The contested political rivalries in the municipalities also influenced environmental-based procurement and it was challenging to address environmental issues effectively within a contested political environment. The municipal managers and officials continuously changed. This was confirmed by an ELM official stating that “government environmental departments struggled to form partnerships with municipal stakeholders in a politically contested environment” (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA). A politically unstable municipal environment was challenging for external stakeholders to establish proper functioning environmental interventions and to assist the municipalities in attaining effective EG, as political mandates were often prioitised. An experienced municipal official provided a bleak reality of the political climate in LG, “it doesn’t matter about which party governs, they all have the same culture and mindset – win power, govern efficiently for a year or two then become corrupt” (Interview, 28 April 2021, Dundee, SA). Hopefully there will be a more positive reality of LG in the near future in SA.

Discussion: Local political Contestations and the Future Implications on local EG in SA

The findings revealed that significant political moments from coalition to single councils and political contestations disproportionally influenced EG. The occurrence of political council contest, factional power battles and community injustices were directly linked to the access to environmental resources, services and opportunities. The application of a broad PEA assisted in providing a linkage and understanding between the environment, politics and LG. The findings indicated that the occurrence of contested local councils and factionalism was ostensibly normative in the municipal study sites and there were consequential influences on EG. In both municipalities, environmental opportunities and environmental services were utilised by the councils as a political resource to reward community supporters and punish opposition supporters. Political contestations in the municipalities disproportionally influenced EG and environmental service delivery, indicating that even within a political and coalition moment in SA, it does not matter who governs, both coalition and single councils experience political instability, contest and factionalism.

These findings complicate the narrative that coalition governments are by their very nature problematic, even as we critique them. The findings also suggested that in a context of continued post-Apartheid local state formation, democratisation plays out in the context of increasing political contestation and factionalism that negatively affects/constrains progress towards achieving effective and consistent EG. We point to a broader and ongoing need for council policy reform, local council stability (of both single and coalition councils), municipal competence and accountability to take advantage of this moment for the civic good going forward. Specifically, until more horizontal, community led arrangements are fostered, the substitution of faltering coalitions for single party governance will now significantly alter top-down governance arrangement and hinder the progress towards local state democratisation and EG.

The contested council battles and factionalist relationships also both enabled and restricted the implementation of environmental policies, strategies and interventions. Jager and ed. (2015) and Olver (2018) emphasised that the South African constitution prioritises environmental health and service delivery, however certain community wards in the ELM and UDM were only prioritised for environmental services. This mindset is common in most municipalities in SA, as political parties use environmental services and environmental resources as persuasion tools in times of contest and instability. There was a vicious cycle of different councils obtaining political and administrative power, abusing state resources and not facing accountable / legal actions.

The study provided an understanding towards the role of political contest and political moments on local state formation and democratisation as well as the effects on local EG in SA, especially with the increasing transition towards coalition councils, as evident in studies conducted by Mokgosi et al (2017), Bradshaw and Breakfast (2019) and De Vos (2021). There have been attempts by political parties such as the DA and IFP to strengthen coalition agreements in LG through democratic alliances, however time will only reveal the effectiveness of such democratic-based coalition agreements (see Roodt, 2022). The findings are applicable to LMs globally in assessing how political contestations and factionalist tendencies enable or restrict the progression towards environmental sustainability at the local scale within a democratic state.

Similar findings were also evident in democratic states in both the global north and south such as India (Panneerselvam, 2021), Brazil (Figueiredo, 2023), Belgium (De Winter, 2019) and the USA (Bucchianeri, 2020). The presence of coalition governments is more common in democratic states and as democracy expands throughout the world, and while alternation and opposition victories must be recognised as an expression of both freedom and fairness of electoral democracy, more substantive gains and outcomes can be slow to mature (Lindberg, 2006).

While SA does not reflect trends of electoral authoritarianism (Kotze, 2018), regime change (turnover) may not necessarily translate into change in regime type. This is relevant because coalition governments are predicted to become more common in Africa. The recurring pattern of coalitions globally indicate initial political instability and contest between political parties and extensive negotiation and power sharing strategies in alternating power situations. However, stringent coalition policies and regulations are assisting in promoting coalition sustainability for established democratic states, especially in the global north and it is here that SA and other developing states are lacking, especially at the local level, of which requires urgent government intervention.

Conclusion— Does It Matter Who Governs?

There was a hostile emergence of political contest and instability in the ELM and UDM that affected EG and the provision of environmental services. The current political moment in SA has shifted LG towards a transition to coalition-based LG. Within the study sites, the coalition council was in a state of contest, and this destabilised municipal operations. However, even with a shift from a coalition council to a single council, intra-party factions within the ruling party also destabilised operations at the ELM. After the 2021 local elections, the ELM council was comprised of another coalition and there are still signs of contest, indicating that it does not matter who governs, political contest occurred within both coalition and single councils and policy and legislation on coalition agreements are currently not effective in SA. We suggest that council legislation and policies require review and amendments in SA, especially regarding the formation of and power distribution within coalition councils.

The findings are important for understanding the current alternating power structure in South African LG and provides a theoretical foundation, as well as a better understanding of coalition councils in LMs, especially in the local environmental sector. The paper provides a theoretical contribution towards understanding the influence of alternation, coalitions, council instability and factionalism on local EG. With the upcoming 2024 LG elections nearing in SA, this paper provides policy makers, consultants, civil society, the public and private sectors a crucial understanding and insight of the sensitive dynamics associated with power alternation in both coalition and single council contest and the consequences on local EG.

The study contributed towards a novel understanding of the effects of political moments, alternation and council contest on local state formation, democratisation and EG in SA. On a broader context, the study focused on understanding the effects of political contestations on local EG through empirical research and can be applied and compared to LMs globally. We suggest for research to be conducted on the influence of contested councils, alternation of power and factionalism on EG in other LMs globally, as well as the identification and discussion of EG differences and similarities between LMs from the global south and north. We also recommend a comparison study of LMs that experience political contest from diverse geographical regions in SA and globally to better understand the implications and influence of alternating coalition and single councils on a local state formation, democratisation and EG.