AfriForum urges DA and FF Plus to reconsider GNU over Bela Bill

Civil rights organisation AfriForum has asked the Democratic Alliance (DA) and FF Plus to reconsider their participation in the government of national unity (GNU) should the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill be implemented unchanged.

The decision to make an official request to the parties stems from a clause in the Bela Bill that “threatens the continued existence of Afrikaans schools”, AfriForum said.

The clause in question compels the school governing body to submit the school’s language policy to the provincial head of department for approval.

Bela ‘threatens existence of Afrikaans schools’

AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel alleged that there are anti-Afrikaans activists in the African National Congress (ANC), the Gauteng government, and senior officials in the Department of Basic Education who are “acting contemptuously towards President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to create an opportunity for further discussion on the Bela Act’s language clauses.”

“This anti-African group is openly out to derail constructive discussions and steamroll the implementation of the Bela Act in its current format and try to make any cooperation within the GNU impossible,” Kriel said on Wednesday.

The CEO said that if it turns out that the ANC has coopted the DA and FF Plus to blindly follow ANC policies, then hopes that the GNU will bring about a period of collaboration will be destroyed.

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He added that, unlike other cultural groups in South Africa, Afrikaans speakers do not have large traditional areas where their cultures are promoted.

“Therefore, Afrikaans schools play a central role in the survival of the respective Afrikaans cultural communities across the country. Precisely because of this, the fight against Bela is not just a fight against another law, but it is a fight for cultural survival,” Kriel said.

Watch a video of Kriel of AfriForum’s request here:

Ramaphosa signed the bill into law last month amid criticism, and he allowed for the suspension of the admission and language policies for three months while discussions took place.

Ramaphosa allowed suspension while discussions took place

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.”

In April this year, AfriForum’s youth members also protested outside the Union Buildings to hand over a memorandum that appealed to Ramaphosa to scrap the Bela Bill.

AfriForum’s youth spokesperson, Louis Boshoff, said the memorandum argued that the bill was a direct attack on mother language education in general and an indirect attack on Afrikaans as a language of instruction.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa defends Bela Bill signing, says Constitution required it

Meanwhile, Afriforumn will continue to mobilise public opposition to the Bela Bill and as of Thursday afternoon, about 217 151 people have already signed AfriForum’s petition against the law.

AfriForum, Solidarity, and numerous other role players are also planning several other protest actions against the Bela law, which will be announced later.