UPDATED REPORT: President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the controversial Bela Bill into law this morning at a public ceremony at the Union Buildings that was boycotted by his own Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, a DA MP who urged him to return the bill to Parliament for further deliberation.
In a last minute twist to the bill- signing saga, in an apparent bid to prevent fracturing of the young Government of National Unity (GNU) and to discourage likely Constitutional Court challenges, the president signed the bill but delayed it for negotiations.
During his speech at the signing ceremony, Ramaphosa said: “In the last few days, the parties to the Government of National Unity have expressed their wish to further engage each other on sections of the bill that deal with issues of admission and language.
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“In the spirit of cooperation and meaningful engagement, I have decided to delay the implementation date for clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill by three months.
“This will give the parties time to deliberate on these issues and make proposals on how the different views may be accommodated.
“Should the parties not be able to agree on an approach, then we will proceed with the implementation of these parts of the Bill.
“In making this decision, I am drawing on a tradition of engagement that goes back many years, including to the draft of the new Constitution.
“At the time of the drafting of the new Constitution, we had to resolve seemingly intractable differences over issues such as the right to strike, language, education and land.”
Will the prospect of further negotiations satisfy GNU partners unhappy with the Bill and organisations like Solidarity and the SA Onderwysersunie who said they would go directly to court if the President signed?
Ramaphosa’s compromise may buy time for reaching a deal on the language and school admissions policy stumbling blocks in the bill.
But what about other many other issues like homeschooling, learner pregnancy, closing of rural schools, limiting the powers of school governing bodies, and more which are opposed by many citizens?
Former ACDP MP Marie Sukers who led the ACDP’s opposition to the Bill as a member of the Basic Education Portfolio Committee, believes the public participation process was constitutionally flawed, In a statement released on Friday morning she says: “The tide has turned, we must now employ the strategies of mass mobilization, because we will never fight from the back foot ever again! Mobilize by sharing, inspire and fight with hope! We never surrender!! Let the Christian Democrats Arise!!”
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