Ramaphosa defends Bela Bill signing, says Constitution required it

President Cyril Ramaphosa says he had no reservations about the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill and, as a result, had to sign it into law.

The president signed the Bill on Friday amid criticism from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), which form part of the government of national unity (GNU).

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube boycotted the signing of the Bill, and said “Parliament must be allowed to fix what is currently wrong with the Bill so that millions of learners across the country can access and receive quality education for a better South Africa”.

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The two parties had reservations about clauses 4 and 5 of the Act, which give the Basic Education Department control over admissions policy and compels the school governing body to submit the school’s language policy to the provincial head of department for approval.

Bela Bill: Two clauses on hold

Ramaphosa has given the parties three months to reach a consensus on the clauses, before the Bill is fully implemented.

In his weekly letter to the nation on Monday, Ramaphosa said he signed the Bill as he had no reservations about it.

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Once a Bill has been passed by Parliament, the president must either assent to the Bill or, if they have reservations about its constitutionality, refer it back to parliament.

“Since, after considering all the various submissions, I had no such reservations about the Bela Bill, the constitution obliged me to assent to it,” said Ramaphosa.

“However, even as I signed the Bill, I noted that some of the parties in the GNU said they wanted to engage each other on parts of the Bill dealing with issues of school admissions and language. To give the parties time to discuss these issues, I said we would delay implementation of the Act in order for parties to engage and come up with proposals, if any, on the relevant clauses.

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“In taking this approach, we are seeking to establish a culture of openness and dialogue among the GNU parties. We are also drawing on a long history in South Africa of engagement among parties on matters on which they seem far apart.”

FF Plus ‘leverages its position in the GNU’

The FF Plus has since welcomed the move, while AfriForum criticised those who said Ramaphosa “buckled to pressure”.

“For a president to engage with all communities, even those that disagree with his party, is called good statesmanship,” said AfriForum’s Kallie Kriel on Sunday.

“To portray President Ramaphosa’s decision to engage with representatives of minority communities as if he ‘buckled to pressure’ is a false narrative created by those who do not want to promote mutual recognition and respect between communities. The country is in dire need of co-operation, not heightened polarisation.”

ALSO READ: Bela Bill debacle sees GNU divisions widen

FF Plus leader, Pieter Groenewald, said during the next three months’ consultation process, the party will use its influence as a partner in the GNU “to remedy the objectionable sections of the law for the sake of everyone’s right to mother-tongue education”.

“During the upcoming talks, the FF Plus will do everything in its power to restrict the implementation of the objectionable parts of the law.”